Bridges of Light
by Red-Lynx
Summary: Follow the story of a young Hylian named Mandara Decity, as she is forced into becoming a worker for the Gorons. Meanwhile, tension between the races of Hyrule is beginning to grow, and unraveling that mystery is a job that she has to, unwillingly, take.
1. Ch 1: Ride to the Mountain

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**_Bridges of Light_**

_Chapter One: _

_Ride to the Mountain_

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The sky rested low over the land like a worn navy quilt, blanketing Hyrule Field with muggy air that was characteristic of mid-summer. The streets of Mairvan were silent under the influence of twilight, save for a single man who sat half-unconscious on his porch. His sunken face glowed sharply from the lit torch that hung from the ragged eaves, and a book lay open between his squared fingers. Every few minutes, he would slowly sink into the seat of his wooden chair, nod off, and then jerk awake as if he had been prodded in the side.

Another young one was awake at this unholy hour, although she was much more alert than the man outside. She sat upright in her bed with a thin cotton pillow propped up against her back, and a pile of paper in her lap. Upon a worn bedside table, a stumpy candle flame guttered within its overflowing pool of wax, beside a well used ink pot. The matching Cucco-feather quill was in the woman's hands, the tip brushing against her chin as she trailed deep in thought. Every so often she would jot down several scratchy letters on the paper, stifle an occasional yawn, and then return to her pondering. From what was legible, it seemed that she was writing a fictional story, although from the amount of words that were struck-through, she wasn't feeling very creative tonight.

A few more minutes passed, and without any more inspiration to drive her, she sighed and returned the quill to its pot. It was late, and it probably was best that she rest her mind until tomorrow.

The woman tiredly swung her legs out of bed and marched to her writing desk, buried under an uneven pyramid of scrolls. With one swift movement, she pulled open the table drawer, stuffed the paper into it, and shut it with a thrust of her hip. But even with her work safely out of sight, it certainly wasn't out of mind. Droves of letters still muttered in her head. Rubbing the sides of her temples, she sat back on the bed, trying to relax herself.

The silence was heavy in the room now, and the wind could now be heard picking at the old muted lanterns that hung from the corner of every roof. Through the window above her bed, she could see a soft halo of flame, and in its glow, the figure of her neighbor. "Silly Dren," she smirked as he attempted to turn another page, "He can never put down a good book, even at this hour." His head jerked up again as he fought off another wave of sleep, and she kneeled on the bed to rest her elbows on the window sill, palms up and cushioning her chin. She tried to relax herself with the repetitiveness of the night outside: the squeak of the house against the breeze, the swaying of the flame in the lanterns, Dren's head bobbing up and down like a fish lure upon his shoulders.

The relaxing stillness was suddenly interrupted by a strange noise. A quick, light tapping sound coming from her right. It was the feather, trembling in its jar and tapping its hardened stem against the glass bottom. The noise was soon accompanied by the table drawers, which rattled up and down with increasing intensity. As the glass in the window started to clatter, the woman stared beyond it with alarm. Was it an earthquake? She could see the blurred figure of Dren, the book lost at his feet when he jumped out of his chair. He quickly ran beyond the window frame, several other shadows flitting past with him.

Yells started from outside, nearly drowned beneath a horrible rumbling, like thunder in a storm. "Something's headed this way!" she heard, and before she could respond, a splintering crash resounded through her wall. The table disintegrated beneath a rolling behemoth of stone, showering her with woody debris. The rock wasn't even disturbed by the obstacle, and lost no speed when it plowed through the opposite wall, crushing the end of her bed inches from her exposed toes. Screams from her fellow townsfolk sang ever louder through the hole in her wall, accompanied by the rumble of more rocks tearing through the town. "What's happening?!" she cried, her stomach a hardy knot of fear; her limbs freezing her in a defensive ball.

"Mandara! It's the Gorons! They're attacking the houses!" a young teen yelled in response, his forehead trickling a thin line of blood from an impact wound.

"Rero!" she yelled. He ran towards her, making his way through a battlefield of debris outside. She could barely see his fleeting image between flurries of papers still whirling around her, but an enormous shadow surfaced behind the wall. "Watch out!" Before he could react, his body was abruptly sent flying from a craggy-fisted punch to the stomach, and she watched in horror as he landed, motionless, in the rubble of Dren's fallen porch. The accused figure stepped out from the shadow, its body harshly illuminated by an iron lantern it held loosely in its left hand. She was motionless in the corner of her room, dusted with the remains of her writing desk, curled as small as her body would allow. Its massive head slowly scanned over the ruins, and she flinched as its eyes caught in the dim light, glowing bright violet and icy cold. Thin lips broke into a shallow grin.

_"Come and play, puny human..."_

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Mandara's eyes snapped open. Her body refused to move, palms slick with nervous sweat. "I thought... I thought these dreams would go away once I left..." The thin mattress creaked on the bed slats under her, and she ran one shaking hand over her brow. It was just as damp as her hands. Rolling onto her side, the young woman slowly recalled where she was; a dim inn room, simply furnished with a round table and a matching chair. A shallow wooden bowl filled with scummy hand water occupied the tabletop. It was several more minutes before her legs obeyed, to blearily stumble over there to wash her face.

She stared intently into the washbasin's cloudy depths and examined her reflection. Her oval-shaped face was ivory pale as usual, barely coloured despite exposure to the sun, except for the discolored bags that hung under her eyes. Their violet hue only intensified the color of green around her dark brown irises. A mess of hair trailed loosely around her pointed ears and dipped their tips into the water.

A sudden knock on the door startled her, and a rickety voice drifted through. "Excuse me miss... There's a group of travelers outside waiting for you... They want me to let you know that... you should... get ready... and..." Something else was muttered, but it was too soft and faded to understand. Sighing, Mandara tossed on a pair of olive green work pants, and a thick cotton sweater. Shouldering her canvas backpack, she snatched her leather vest from the back of the chair and marched out the door. As she jogged through the halls of the inn, trying to thread her arms through the vest's armholes, she passed by a willowy young maid who was scrubbing floors with a rag-tipped pole. She looked up with startled grey eyes and bowed deeply. "Th-thank you for staying at Kakariko Inn..." she stuttered with a familiar accent. Mandara inclined her head and smiled, but the maid had already returned to her work. The receptionist at the front desk responded in the same manner as she passed.

The fresh country air was invigorating and still moist with the morning dew. Mandara stepped from the inn and was instantly warmed by the warm yellow sunlight. Most of Kakariko's abstract brick houses were still doused in curtains of darkness by the tall arms of the neighboring mountain peaks. But they were sickly and frail in comparison to the monstrous bulk of Death Mountain, which proudly crouched as the king of the mountain range over the puny settlement. In the open square beyond the inn's porch, several figures were already awake and chatting, seated around a wagon filled with rows of boards and overstuffed canvas bags. She dropped her bag by the stairs, and caught a clip of conversation as she drew near.

"I hope this is enough. It takes long enough to travel across Hyrule Field, and I don't want to have to come back for a few scraps of lumber," one man said. His body was taut and firm, like a coiled spring, with a barrel-wide chest and arms to match. He scratched at his chin, irritated by the uneven stubble.

"Well, we've certainly spent enough Rupees here. I'm sure we can make do with what we've got here," another noted. This speaker was female, but by no means fragile: draped in hardy leather coveralls and roasted a golden tan, she bore the image of a hard and serious worker.

"Good morning!" Mandara interrupted. The group turned and smiled broadly. The worker woman walked up beside her to firmly pat her on the crown of her head.

"How be you today, girlie?" the woman said cheerfully, petting her hand lazily over Mandara's tangled hair. The gesture was meant to be friendly, but it only made the girl feel like she was being treated like a child.

"Err... Fine, I guess..." she lied, trying to push the prowling hand away. It only dug in tighter though, wrestling with the knots.

"Here, let me braid this for you," she said with an overtly sweet tone, gesturing towards the bench in front of the nearest building. The girl nodded and sat down sideways, one foot resting on the seat. The woman sat behind her and began to pick through the twisted locks, although not very gently. "I can tell you're not fine, Mandara," she whispered, "You had some sort of nightmare last night. I could hear you through the wall, rolling and groaning." Ashamedly, the girl stared at her boot.

"It was the Gorons again, Tima." The woman stopped for a moment to sigh, then resumed braiding.

"Probably because we're so close," she said, "You know... to their mountain. Maybe it would have been better for you to stay back in Mairvan."

"No!" Mandara started, "Staying there would've been just the same. All I really need is a change of scenery."

"Well, you picked the worst place for the view. If you wanted to escape, you could have gone to Hyrule Market. At least you can shop there." Tima reached over Mandara's shoulder and plucked the leather tie from her hand.

"I'm not escaping anything!" she protested.

"It takes more than a night away from home to get over memories like these. I know you're eighteen-"

"Nineteen," Mandara corrected, handing her a wooden cylinder-shaped clasp.

Tima raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, nineteen. Just because you're officially an adult doesn't mean that you can just pretend that nothing fazes you. Living like that won't make you seem any more mature. Oh, and try to stay level headed on our way home, okay?" The clasp closed with a firm snap around the top of Mandara's braid.

"Have I ever not been level-headed?" she said after a smirk. Tima flicked her in the back of the head with a sharp laugh. A horse nickered in the background along with the chime of loose harnesses, a sign that Tima should leave to do her share.

The muscled man stepped from the wagon and clapped Mandara softly on the shoulder. He gazed at her for a moment, searching her for something hidden. But her stubborn pout wouldn't relinquish any thoughts.

"We'll be leaving for home soon. Why don't you have your pack?"

"Well... I'm planning on staying for a bit longer," she said, "I still have some... business I need to attend to here. It's not often I get to stay outside of town." A frown twitched across his lips.

"I suppose that's as good a reason as any. But that's no problem," he said, reaching deeply into his trouser pockets to pull out a handful of shiny gems. He counted through the pile and pushed two into Mandara's unexpecting hands. She eyed their bright red sheen and hastily offered them back.

"I don't need any more money, Rotoro!" she cried, "I have enough to-"

"This is for renting a horse to ride home with. You can ride one, right?"

"Y-yeah. Well enough-"

"Then take them. The only other thing that I can buy here is your safety." Mandara ran her thumb over the Rupees that he had given her, and guiltily stuck them into her vest pocket. They met the rest of her feeble sums with a light tinkle.

With a wave of his hand, he strode off and signaled for everyone else to come join the loading team. It was time to leave.

Tima looked confused at Mandara's solo waving figure on the porch of the inn. She mouthed something to Rotoro, who nodded understandingly, and she vaulted over the side of the wagon.

"You're staying?" Tima squeaked, catching Mandara in a sudden embrace. She blushed and patted her on the back in return. "Don't tell me this is because of-"

"It's because of nothing," Mandara said sternly. "I just need some more time away. Can't heal from one night away from home, right? Isn't that what you said?" The older woman broke a forced smile, and gave her another smaller, gentler hug.

"Yes, but..." The rest of her sentence became a whisper in Mandara's ear, and no expression but concern was present on her face as she pulled away. Unable to fess up to Tima, the girl stared at the ground as she returned to the back of the wagon.

The leather reins snapped in his hands, and as the saggy mare wound her way past the Kakariko gates, Mandara suddenly felt guilty that she was staying behind. The only people in this world that she knew were leaving her in a town she wasn't familiar with, to face a challenge they didn't know she would undertake. Of course she wasn't here to shop or relax like she had implied. She had come to find the truth. She picked up her supply pack from the inn wall, filled with enough food to feed her for a few days, in case she couldn't return right away. Small crowds of people passed by her as she marched up the streets, towards the back of the town. Littered in the far boundaries of the city were the skeletons of houses, their dirt foundations filled with seeded grass and flowers. Cringing, Mandara looked away.

Death Mountain loomed over her like some demonic omen, its peak seeming to scrape against the very threshold of heaven. Stories came to mind about how even the hardiest men were stripped of their courage with a single glare from under its brow of heated ash. For one moment, Mandara faltered. But, she shook the notion out of her head and shouldered her pack. Tima's last whispered words faded in her ears as her form disappeared into the shadows of the hiking trail:

_"Don't do anything stupid. I know you're here for the Gorons."_


	2. Ch 2: Thrown into Storage

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_**Bridges of Light**_

_Chapter Two:_

_Thrown Into Storage_

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It had barely been a quarter of an hour before Mandara had to stop to catch her breath. The trail had been shallow at first, but now it sloped into a dirt-packed cliff that had her almost walking on hands and knees. Sheer walls rose on either side of the road, weather-worn and striped with red sandstone. She hadn't expected such a hard journey this early on. But a quick sip from her leather canteen, just enough to wet her tongue, gave her enough to start again.

As she climbed, her mind numbed from boredom, and her untrained body fought back whatever pain arose. For ages, the path wound as if carved by an indecisive workman. It zigzagged back and forth, dipping up and down in random waves and potholes deep enough to twist ankles of passers-by. But her progress up the mountain remained constant, no matter the condition of the road. By the time that the sun was teetering on the edge of the mountain's crown, the path had smoothed into a moderate slope, worn and packed from constant use. Mandara's body welcomed the change of pace, and she reclined momentarily in the shade of a few rogue boulders that rested in the road. Their bulk dwarfed the rocks that she was tripping over a few hours earlier, and thoughts came to mind of these massive, white-hot stones belching from the volcano. Mandara nervously scanned the sky, and then burst into quiet laughter. "What a thought," she smiled. Something moved ahead of her, and she froze.

Against the sandstone cliff, a bulge of rock shifted very slightly from side to side. She made sure she was fully hidden before squinting longer at the figure.

It was actually a person, invisible against the rock when the sun was in one's eyes. He looked fairly bored with his violet eyes unfocused into the sky. His muscled arms were crossed lightly at the wrists and resting atop his bulging stomach, and he constantly shifted his weight around to ease whatever pains were in his feet. She was close enough to hear the rasping of his back rock against the wall, and to see the intricacy of the tattoos that wove around his body from head to toe. They faded from sunlight yellow on his forehead to slate grey around his knees and stomach.

Minutes of tense awareness passed. Mandara shook herself out of her stupor, and stuck her shaking hands into her vest pockets as she walked towards him. Ten feet. Eight feet. Would he hurt her? He finally noticed her approaching at five feet, and with a jerk, stepped in front of her path. He drew up to his full height, and towered head and chest over her.

"Hey!" he rumbled, looking her over curiously, despite his tone. "What are you doing all the way up here, human?" Mandara's eyebrows met at the improper reference, giving her enough courage to speak.

"My name's Mandara, and I'm a Hylian. I've come up here to visit Goron City." He gave her a disbelieving stare.

"Who do you think you are to just waltz up here after all that's happened? I'm on orders to keep all intruders from the path."

"But it's very important! I need to talk with your leaders about compen-"

"Whatever it is, it's not of any concern to the Goron tribe. I can't let you pass."

"That's unfair, considering what you've done to us," she growled.

"Well, life's like that. Why should I--Hey!" He caught at the back of her vest as she tried to dash past. "We've spent enough time chatting. Drag yourself back down to Kakariko." The Goron shoved her in the small of her back. Mandara started towards the hill, but took a brief glance at the wall beside her. She wasn't going to let one Goron stop her from getting what she needed.

"What the?!" The clueless Goron started towards her as she hit the wall, clinging spider-like to the face of the rough sandstone. Madly, she scrabbled for hand and foot holds, digging herself into the crumbling rock. Her heart pumped loudly through her ears, drowning out the sound of the Goron's frantic yells below. A few feet up, success seemed at hand, but something firmly latched around her left ankle, and the livid adrenaline was replaced by a horrid sensation of vertigo. His frowning upside-down face was inches from hers as he held her up with a straight and rigid arm. The supply pack slid from her shoulders, and she let her arms fall to her ears.

"What were you trying to pull, human?!" he growled. The thick flesh of his eyebrows obscured his eyes in a frustrated stare.

"I... I..." Mandara couldn't force out an excuse, paralyzed by dread. Without waiting for a response, he started to walk down the path: the girl in one hand, her pack in the other. She struggled, but he had no problem restraining her.

It wasn't long before she was dropped onto her back, winded by the impact. He stood menacingly over her head and threw the pack onto her heaving chest.

"You can make it the rest of the way down by yourself. If I see you up here again, you'll regret being so foolish..." He tucked into a fierce ball and rolled quickly beyond the corner. Mandara waited for the rumbling to subside before pulling herself to her knees. A dull headache grew in her head as the blood receded.

_That was a stupid move..._ she mused bleakly, pulling open her backpack to check for any damaged goods. _But, I'll make it up there before evening, even with that rock-head in the way. _

An irritating itch crawled spider-leg fine up his back, and with difficulty, he reached over his shoulder and scratched at it with fog grey fingernails. There was a responding clatter of gravel that dislodged, but no relief. As he recrossed his arms and tried to relax, he sighed through his teeth. _I hate this job..._ he thought, trying to stay alert.

Balancing on the balls of her feet, the cautious face of Mandara peered around the corner, back flat with the wall. She waited, spying beyond her rocky barrier with one eye. The guard yawned into his open hand, squeezing his eyes shut for a split moment. This was her chance. She sprinted on her toes, trying to avoid all possible loose obstacles on the trail that could make an audible sound. Even the shifting of sand under her boots sounded like a wailing alarm. At the last moment, she dashed behind another boulder and sat on her heels. Obliviously, the guard lowered his hand back into place against his hip. He hadn't noticed anything, despite his duty as a watch guard.

_That was so close! _she panted, trying to quiet her noisy breathing as she took a peek around the rock. From her position on the hill, the view was poor. The only thing she could see was the Goron's head, which had resumed scanning the pathway. But, she was back where she started, and opportunity would present itself eventually. With her pack to her side, and the boulder as her guard, Mandara lay back to prepare for a long wait.

The shadows of daylight began to stretch and blur as evening came. The rocks of the mountain were bathed in a warm red light, with the sky paled with twilight color. A silver-grey boulder bounded down the craggy mountain peak from some unseen crevice, and landed loudly mere paces from the watch guard. He grunted in surprise.

"I hope you're here to take my shift," he grunted as the other Goron quickly unrolled. "There were a hundred of different things that I wanted to do today, but guard duty wasn't one of them."

"Sorry Brother, but you've still got another few hours." He emitted a low groan, and there was a soft thump as the other Goron patted his shoulder. "I just came to remind you to pick up the supply bag that's being delivered today."

"Oh right, I knew that... Down the trail past the corner, right?" From the sound of his voice, he was very uncertain.

"Right. Just a few minutes' walk..."

While the two men chatted, Mandara listened intently with a smile playing across her lips. If the guard went to gather this 'supply bag', she'd have a chance to move up the mountain, and maybe reach a more desirable outpost before nightfall. She resisted the urge to laugh at her devious ploy, and leaned sideways a tad more to hear them better.

"If they come this close to the cavern, why can't they deliver it right to the city?" The second Goron sighed and brought to mind the image of a massive shaking head.

"Haven't you forgotten, Brother? Traps make it much too dangerous to go the direct route, and our brethren in the neighboring mountain have a lot to deal with themselves. We're lucky to have them do this at all."

"Oh. I guess so..."

"I'll be headed back up to the city. I'll see you at the end of your shift, Brother!" There was a loud crunch of gravel as his body rounded the upper path, and shuffling footsteps that tried to follow.

"But can't you get the supplies while you're down here?!" the guard yelled. "Damn that Goron..." He shuffled back to his post and dug his shoulder blades into the wall with frustrated strength. Mandara scooted back behind the boulder and excitedly gathered her bag, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Thud.

Curious, she stopped shuffling and turned her head to the noise.

Thud.

An erratic rhythm started to pound, slow and booming drumbeats. Sand fluttered down into her hair as the rhythm grew. That horrible noise... it sounded just like that night... Mandara began to sweat, barely holding onto her composure. At the apex of the noise, the guard yelled something, and with a final grinding slide, a shadow launched over the path with incredible speed. It was an indistinguishable spinning blur, and just as soon as she could squint at it, it had disappeared wobbling over the opposite wall. Immediately after, Mandara squealed as a heavy wooden barrel rolled off the ledge above her. It bounced noisily between the boulder and the wall before breaking open upon the ground and spilling its contents of an enormous canvas bag.

_Holy goddesses!_, she almost said aloud, trying to swallow her fluttering heart out of her throat. She looked over the barrel's remains and the guard who, a bit dazed from the noisy delivery, rubbed the top of his head in surprise. "At least this makes my job easier..." He started towards her with slow and confused steps. Glancing from him to the bag, a new plan scrambled to form in her mind.

She pulled open the bag's leather ties and threw herself and her pack inside. Grains of dark powder slid and scraped into her leather boots and sleeves, but in her haste, that discomfort went unnoticed. She briefly glimpsed dirty calloused feet outside before curling into a tight ball around her backpack.

"That's not good. He didn't close the bag properly." The opening synched shut, enveloping Mandara into a brown and dusky darkness. With little effort, the guard lifted the bag, and patted the sides. "I'm surprised nothing was dumped!" He carelessly threw the bag over his shoulder, forcing tears into Mandara's eyes as his back dug into her like a dull mace. When he began to walk, his massive strides softly rocked the bag to and fro.

Her back was horribly pained by bruises, but nonetheless, she found relative comfort. No other sound but the whisper of their breathing and the crunch of the Goron's footsteps existed around them on the mountain. Inside the bag, the ashy mountain air mixed with the bag's spicy odor. It reminded Mandara strongly of the cupboard spices she would use on chicken she cooked over the fire back home. Her stomach protested for a scrap of her rations, but she avoided movement, should she alert her escort of her presence.

As time dragged on, voices and noisy footsteps emerged around them, greeting her captor with enthusiastic words, but not Hylian. In response he only grumbled, using his own harsh and tired version of the language. It became difficult to distinguish which was the guard's and which was another person's as more and more voices grew. Every voice droned on in the single monotony of the Goron tongue, and along with the bag's metronomic rocking, she felt herself slipping into sleep...

"Tonta! Naguaia goro!"

A higher pitched voice startled her out of pleasant unconsciousness. Nothing could have been more irritating to her as she stared at the wall of the bag where the sound came in. The voice chattered on adorably to her left, following the guard. A deeper voice shushed, and the two speakers quickly died away. The only sounds that remained were of sparse gravel underfoot. Mandara assumed they were inside a tunnel or a hallway by their rapid and distinct echo. Suddenly, the rocking stopped with the sound of his footsteps. Powerful muscles twitched under her back, accompanied by the grind of rock sliding on rock. The room he entered was devoid of light, and drew warmth out of Mandara's stiff legs and arms. A spot of orange light bloomed warmly on the canvas wall.

"There's no room in here," he muttered in Hylian, releasing the bag to the floor with a dull 'whumph'. Renewed pain arched up her back, forcing her to concentrate on avoiding movement while the guard shifted some heavy packages about. A powdery cloud silently filled the bag around her with its spicy aroma.

_Uh oh._ Mandara gulped, hoping the cloud would settle quickly.

"There," the Goron said, satisfied. There was a sizeable hole in the wall of supplies now, big enough for the canvas bag to sit propped upright against the extra mining shovels. Eager to finish his shift, he grabbed it forcefully by the ties, but felt it twitch and squirm of its own accord against his arm, accompanied by a strange and explosive noise. Confused, he upended the load onto the floor, and in a flurry of black powdery mess, a dusty Hylian tumbled out, face scrunched up with discomfort.

"Atchoo!"

"Atchoo!"

"What in hell?!"

"Oh goddesses... Atchoo!"


	3. Ch 3: The Guard's Little Secret

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Alrighty, many thanks to those who have reviewed and read my fanfiction! (You know who you are.) I appreciate any and all feedback that is given, and please take the time to give me your honest opinion: you can review anonymously if you wish. 

My beta, _Athenian Affinity_, also reminded me to do this: _Legend of Zelda_ races and locations mentioned in this fanfiction belong to Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. But all original characters, such as Mandara, are copyright to me, Red-Lynx. There, that's done now. You may now continue and enjoy:

* * *

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**Chapter Three:**

_**The Guard's Little Secret**_

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The Goron gawked without restraint as Mandara choked, sprawled out on all fours on the floor. "I can't believe it..." he said, "A human stowing away in a bag of Bomb Flower powder?!"

_Bomb Flower powder?!_ she thought with panic, suddenly fearing the sparks that dully fluttered off the burning torch flame. Should they touch her, she horribly imagined herself catching aflame. But no matter how much she sputtered and sneezed, the powder stuck fast and coarsely layered her mouth and throat. Tired of the noise, the Goron cleared her throat with a hard slap on the back, and picked her up in his thick-fingered hand. Hanging by nothing but the armhole of her vest, she dangled just barely off the ground, forced to look crookedly into his enraged face. His other hand slid the storage room door shut along its track. The torchlight created an ominous orange-ringed shadow around his form, which gave Mandara an overwhelming feeling of dread.

"Explain." The girl gave him a blank look.

"...What?"

"I said explain," he repeated sternly. "Tell me what the hell is so important that you have to resort to being a stowaway."

She sucked on her gritty teeth for a moment, trying to find her voice. "I came here to get... compensation."

There was a moment of silence, but no change in his face. "For what?"

"When our village was attacked." The Goron's stone expression lifted a curious eyebrow.

"By what?"

"Gorons of course," she said, aggravation beginning to replace the uneasy tone in her voice. "Why do you think I would want compensation from you?"

"What? It can't have been Gorons."

"Don't tell me what I saw," she growled, "You monsters hurt a lot of people, and I came here to demand compensation!"

"Well I'm saying it can't have been us! You humans are the ones who started this whole killing mess!" Mandara couldn't believe what nonsense she was hearing coming out of this liar's mouth.

"We're Hylians! Hylians! Not humans! We don't stoop to your level!" She took an angry swipe at his face, but he was out of her range. In exchange, he gave her a firm shake, letting her temple bang against his stiff knuckles.

"As if we have any grudge against you anyways! When did this whole 'attack' thing happen then?"

"Two months ago!" she yelled, letting spit fly onto his face. He slowly wiped the moisture off with the heel of his hand. Along with it though, it seemed like he had also removed some of his disgusted expression.

"Well that's not right..." he muttered darkly, turning towards the torchlight. The reflection of the flames danced around in his purple irises. She was surprised to see that they were different than what she remembered: they bore a different kind of light. His eyes held much more warmth. A warmer, kinder glow than her nightmare's icy-hearted golem...

"Why isn't it right?" she asked through clenched teeth, temple throbbing.

"We've been isolated for much longer than that..." He more spoke to himself, now rubbing his hand along the broad bone of his jaw. The coarse, stony hairs of his goatee made a faint but awful noise against his rough fingers. For five long minutes, only that scraping sound filled the silence. The Goron, sighing, finally let the Hylian touch the floor again. Mandara scuttled backwards into a storage cabinet and rubbed her tingling right arm. The hole in her vest sagged under her armpit significantly more than before.

"Well, I know why you're here now, but why come alone?" It took her a long moment to answer. The answer wasn't really much clearer to her than it was to him.

"There were a lot of people hurt by those Gorons..." she said, refusing to look him in the eye. "Most of them were much worse off than me... I felt like I should be helping more..."

He shook his head. "And you thought you could convince a tribe of Gorons by yourself to give you money? You'd have been better off mining your own Rupees, human." She glared at him with distaste.

"I'm Hylian." The Goron threw his arms up into the air despairingly.

"What is it with you humans and your heritage? You're all the same except for those stupid ears." She opened her mouth to retort, but was muffled by a massive palm. "I don't need to hear it." After a minute of frustrated yelling, the exasperated Hylian gave up and became silent. Seeing this, the Goron pushed her backwards and released her face, and she collapsed into a pile of rolled woven fabric.

The door cracked open to barely admit the guard through. His silhouette, illuminated by the hallway light behind it, muttered to her as she struggled in the heap.

"If I tried to take you now, too many people would notice. You'll stay here until I see fit for you to be escorted back outside."

"Wait!" she cried angrily, "I said wait!" The silhouette melted into the shadows behind the door. She scrambled to her feet. "I'm not done with you yet!"

The crack of light quickly disappeared, and her body slammed against solid rock. Her outstretched fingers clawed at any indent there could be between it and the wall. She hoped for a hold or groove that she could pry open. But there was none. The barrier was uniform and smooth. The wavering torch flame slowly stilled as Mandara quietly slid to her knees, left to ponder with the time she had earned for herself.

--------

In squatting silence, which was much more uncomfortable than the canvas bag ride she had taken into this place, the young Hylian sat with her back against the far wall's stack of supplies. It wasn't eagerness for him that kept her occupied, but realization that his return would mean her escape, and the continuation of her quest. Retrieving her bent quill out of her backpack, she stroked the tip back and forth across her chin as she stared into the dark corners of the storage room. There was barely any room to maneuver among the piles of metal tools and sagging crates. High wooden shelves stood packed to almost bursting with rolls of fabric and skins and pyramids of rocks, their colours nearly indistinguishable from the shadows that surrounded them. The torch offered her what light and warmth it could, but she refused it to let herself brood.

A white crack emerged on the left wall, and she jumped to her feet, bag already dangling from her hand. The crack widened and swallowed a hunchbacked silhouette before shutting again into tawny darkness.

"About time," Mandara said, her voice leaking complaint. The Goron twitched and did a mild double take.

"Din!" he gasped, "You snuck up on me. I didn't even see you..." He paused a moment to regain himself. "It's nighttime. Most of the city has retired to the community hall for sleep, so getting _you_ out should be easier." He put fair stress on the word, and crossed his arms. "And if you are going to get out without getting either of us in trouble, then I expect that you should do as you're told until you're well on your way back to Kakariko."

"But-"

"Honestly, you're not going to get what you came for." He took her hand and led her to the wall, and with one mighty stroke, pushed the wall aside. She pulled with all her might against him, but it was like being handcuffed to the side of a house. She didn't know exactly what she wanted to do, but she knew anything but getting thrown out was a good plan.

"Stop struggling!" he said, giving her a good yank. "I thought I said you should co-operate." Mandara refused to say anything but grunts as she continued pulling. The guard simply rolled his eyes and dragged her alongside him like a disobedient animal.

He was so preoccupied with his struggling captive that he did not realize someone was around the corner. That is, until they collided with each other. Both Gorons cried out and rubbed their foreheads simultaneously.

"Ow," the new Goron said, "You should watch where yer going, goro."

"Sorry. I didn't see you."

"Obviously." He casually noticed the guard's hand, hiding rigidly from view. "Whaddya got, Brother?" he asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow. The guard jolted upright and pulled the protesting Hylian further behind him.

"Aw, nothing of interest, Brother!" he said with a nervous laugh as he backed up towards the other hallway. Mandara was nearly flat between the wall and his craggy back, and struggled for room to move with him.

"Everythin's interestin' when it involves a secret, goro. I bet you've got some tasty gems you mined from the cavern wit' ya." He advanced a little closer.

"Of course not, Brother! Nothing that good," the guard jested, pushing back even further and stepping around the Goron, forcing the Hylian around the corner. The guard stood firmly between her and his curious friend, his left arm wound uncomfortably behind his back to hold onto Mandara.

"It's gotta be good, if yer hiding it from me, goro."

"Honestly, it's not." There was a slight relief of pressure on her hand.

"Cummon, don't be greedy, goro! Share with your fellow Brother, eh?"

"I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I'm in a hurry!" He jerked back, and in his haste, nearly released his grip. But it was just enough.

"It's a human, goro?!" the Goron gasped, watching a girl sprint down the hallway from behind him. The guard swore loudly and gave chase.

"Come back here, you dumbass!"

She was thrilled to be free! Running was a wonderful feeling to her after being static for who knows how many hours. But the realization eventually pressed in on her. Nothing was familiar in these foreign tunnels. Every hallway was the same torch lit passage as the next, branching off in all directions: left, right, diagonally, with stairs crawling either up or down into the mountain. She took a few lefts and rights, stumbling only up the staircases, hopeful of something other than capture, maybe a glimpse of moonlight.

But she was reckless, and ran straight into the arms of another tribesman at the plateau of her fourth round of stairs. He took no hesitation in grappling her to the ground before either of them could so much as gasp.

"I caught an intruder!" he announced atop the pinned Mandara, who squirmed like a half-squashed insect beneath his weight. The bones in her cheeks rattled from the vibrations of heavy footsteps. The sideways face of the guard appeared with one of his hands cupped over his brow, probably to shield his embarrassment.

"No. You caught mine."

--------

The left and right walls were cramped full of old objects: tattered banners, sunken handprint plaques, shelves of tablets scarred with jagged script, tiny Goron statues of various colours posing for their carvers. Engraved wooden beams wound around the borders of the ceiling, also adorned with faded red and brown banners. But these fineries were hard to appreciate when one was being thrown across the floor.

Her hands were bound by cord at the wrists, with legs free to stumble ahead of her captor. The Goron led his catch to the middle of the room and forced her to her knees. The guard humbly followed, staring into the crevice of his crossed arms whilst he took his place on the clean back wall.

Before the tribesmen, a shriveled frame of black stone sat, irritably chewing the stem of his tobacco pipe. The crunching of varnished wood stopped just long enough for him to crinkle his nose and expose a scowl of yellow-grey teeth. From the spaces between them, thick streams of foul greenish smoke poured out, as distasteful as his ill-tempered voice.

"Where the hell'd you find it?" he growled, squinting with charcoal eyes at the prisoner bent double before him. Mandara couldn't look up because of the massive hand on her neck, but she could assume the man was examining her with distaste.

"Running amok in the new city halls, Brother," the Goron replied, "Smacked right into my arms, goro! But I was too fast for her. She didn't-" The old man snapped his hand in quick circles, signaling for his silence.

"You don't need to preach to me how you found it, goro. The problem is why it was in here in the first place." He uncurled his hunched back a little further and leaned onto his elbow to look behind Mandara. "Tonta!" he snapped.

The guard winced and gave the elder an acknowledging glance.

"You were on guard duty today, weren't you, goro? Why did you let it get in?"

"I didn't." His voice was strained. Whether it was with anger or shame, Mandara couldn't tell.

"Well, if you didn't, then how do we have this problem, goro?" the elder sneered. Tonta the guard gave no response, instead preferring to stare at his feet with pressed lips. "Not saying? I guess we'll get the story from the Dodongo's mouth, so to speak, goro." The elder rose to his feet, and forced his bony right hand under his prisoner's chin. It curled strangely around her jaw, cupping with more of his palm rather than his fingertips. It took a moment for her to realize that he was missing his first two fingers.

"Look at me," he said, drawing her up into a sitting position. Mandara let her eyes wander to the bottom of his chin, around the angles of his thick beard and sideburns. His quill-thin lips shone with spittle. "I said look at me!" He gave her a painful squeeze, and she took in the rest of his face with a faint grimace. Wrinkles of all lengths and depths hatched over his withered features, the most prominent ones being across his brow. But none of them had the power to take away from the hardy expression that hid beneath. His eyes, with their bare grey highlights, were as sharp as iron, and held no remorse for her.

"Now, I won't waste too many words on you, goro. How did you get in here?" A dreadful lump was forming in her throat. He sighed sharply, and held her closer. "Are you deaf? I asked 'how did you get in here,' goro?"

"...I snuck in..." she whispered, but the elder only scoffed.

"I know that Tonta's lazy, but he wouldn't let something like you get past him, goro." The guard coughed something offensive into his fist. "So how exactly did you 'sneak in' then, goro?" She pressed her lips together and tried to avoid his gaze, which was intensifying as she dodged his questions. The elder, tired of fishing haphazardly for the details, slowly pushed aside the blocky statue behind him, which took the form of a wild, pondering Goron man. A heavy waft of muggy, sulfurous air filled the room.

The elder, taking no pause, grabbed Mandara by her bonds, and half-dragged her, half-walked her into the cavern beyond. The heat and darkness engulfed the pair, the latter which slowly lifted as their eyes adjusted.

Spanning before them was a massive crater, hundreds of paces wide and filled with the yellow-orange brew of fresh lava. Two massive spires, like mountains themselves, guarded over the dark vein of a bridge that led safely around and between them. This tiny bridge merged with the outcropping far below them, and became a rocky path that wound around the side of the crater, eventually rising to their level. Another wall of rock rose to their right: a nearly impassable climb to another ledge that crawled over the lip of the smoking basin. Everything around them was shrouded in glowing ashes, floating and twisting on the heat currents like ethereal snowflakes. Mandara was thrown down by the elder before this awesome scene, knees parted around a shallow lava geyser that poked out of the plateau they stood on.

"Now we'll see how long you'll take to talk..." he growled. His bony fist dug into the hair on the back of her scalp, pulling large clumps out of her braid. The wooden clasp came off with a 'pop' and rolled away. "How exactly did you get into Goron City, goro?" he asked, pushing her head down. The heat steaming off of the lava caressed her face with poker-hot fingertips.

"I-I snuck in with the guard." He frowned and forced her down another few inches. "Wait, wait! I hid in the powder supply bag!"

"Oh really, goro?" he said with sarcasm, "Why would you need to do something so deceitful?" Mandara tried to gather her thoughts, but it was hard with the image of roiling magma before her.

"I needed to-I needed to talk to the Gorons!"

"If it were that easy, you could have told Tonta," he snapped, jerking her head down to a mere foot from the surface. "What is it you wanted from us?!"

"Com-compen... compen..." The word wouldn't come. Flashes of broken houses and a tornado of paper fluttered around her vision. His voice... his voice was just like that man's...

"Spit it out!" he yelled over her fitful cries.

"Compensation!" she sobbed, "I-I-I wanted to get m-money to help my village!"

"If it was so simple, you would not have had to try and sneak inside, goro! I think you meant to do other things... like spying for the humans!" Her pale face burned painfully from the heat and shook from resisting his heavy-handed grip.

"Really!" she begged, "I-I just wanted the Gorons to pay for the damages, that's all!"

"We haven't done a damned thing to you," he hissed, "and you expect us to hand over a bag of Rupees just because you claim we've done something wrong, goro?! You're lying!"

"No, stop! S-Stop it!"

"Tell me what we all want to hear!"

"No! P-please, I-I-I'm telling the t-truth!"

"Lies!!" His hand tensed to go the final inch.

"STOP!" Tonta yelled, unable to watch this torture any longer. He, being much stronger than the elder, tackled him aside easily. The girl tore from his grip and toppled over onto her side; the elder slid several feet on his side, stopping with one arm dangling over the edge of the cliff. Looking bewildered, the old Goron groaned and held up his fist. A large chunk of ratty copper strands dangled from it. Tonta bent down over Mandara, looking as if he would pick her up, but his hands hovered on either side of her in hesitation. "Are... are you okay?"

She did not respond. She had quieted into shivering hiccoughs, but streaks of evaporated tears covered her cheeks. He breathed heavily, unsure of what to do next.

"TONTA! What in Ganon's hell are you trying to pull, goro?!" The elder, already back on his feet, marched up to Tonta and pointed a threatening finger in his face; despite being a full head shorter and much more frail than the guard, his expression was dreadfully intimidating.

"You shouldn't do this to her!" the guard protested, gesturing towards her curled body on the ground.

"Why should you care? It's a human!"

"Yes, but torturing?!"

"Bah! It's not torturing; it's 'interrogating', goro. Is there another method you want to pull out of your ass instead?"

There was silence.

"Maybe you could search her belongings. If she's a spy like you think, there'll be weapons or something in there." He held up a small backpack, which the elder promptly snatched away to scatter its contents. The old man frowned over the meager pile of food rations and blank paper, and rolled the fragile tip of the Cucco-feather quill between his fingers. "Well?"

"Nothing of importance," he grumbled, throwing the feather back into the bag. "But I'm still not convinced."

"Search her clothes for weapons. Maybe she hid something on her body." The elder rolled his eyes and swept a hand towards her.

"You do it then, goro." Tonta sighed and pulled the girl to her feet. He patted her sides, feeling for anything unnatural, and felt her feeble form quivering under his hands. Mentally, he promised to make this investigation short: he disliked having to touch her in this state. A faint tinkle sounded when he touched her vest pocket, but when he drew it open, it only revealed a handful of scuffed gems. Stepping back quickly, he announced: "She has nothing but Rupees." The elder grunted.

"This doesn't prove a thing," he said, "Spying doesn't require a lot of equipment, goro."

"But it also doesn't prove that she was meaning to do us harm," Tonta pushed Mandara back onto her knees, keeping his massive hand on her shoulder.

"Why the hell do you care so much, goro?" the elder groaned. "You aren't doing anything good for the tribe, you know."

Tonta shrugged and gave the Hylian a glance. She was staring at the ground, head hung low. "I guess not, but-"

"The human's seen too much of the city anyways, goro. Better to be safe than sorry." The elder snatched Mandara by the wrists and dragged her back into the meeting chamber. The bright lighting momentarily blinded them. "We'll just have to throw it off the mountain." The Hylian squealed and wrestled with her bonds. The heel of her boot caught at the plush rug, dragging it along with her. Tonta ran before the elder and braced himself in the chamber's main doorway; the other Goron, completely lost on the current situation, stared blankly at the two men.

"That's completely unnecessary! We don't need to kill her!"

"Well, why not, goro?" he growled, "It's the easiest way." With his free arm, he attempted to wedge himself around the guard. But Tonta remained firm.

"There are other ways! What would..." A thought enlightened on him. "What would Big Brother think about you killing a human?" The old man froze and ground his teeth reproachfully. "You can't say that he would approve..."

"I know he wouldn't, goro!" he snapped, his frown intensifying. "But officially, I'm in charge right now, goro! What I say goes!" Tonta shook his head.

"But you have to stick to his rules even when he's gone. And Big Brother wouldn't be very happy if he found out you had killed someone." The guard had an immense smirk on his face. He knew that the old man was caught now. The elder's mouth bobbed open and closed, unable to think of a retort. His frown became so severe that his eyes disappeared under the wrinkles of his brow.

"Argh! Dammit! Fine, you win, goro." Tonta flashed his triumphant smile.

"So you'll let her go?"

"Of course not, goro. That human's still seen too much."

"But you said-"

"You wanted it, so it's your problem now." He threw Mandara by her wrists into Tonta's half-opened arms. "You'll have to look after the human so it doesn't run away on us; at least until the patriarch returns, goro. You'll take time off of your mining to do it."

"What?"

The elder, refusing to say anything more, replaced himself and the rug to the center of the room to resume his wistful smoking. It was as if nothing had happened. Tonta gave the other Goron a disbelieving stare, who only responded with a shrug of his shoulders and a confused expression. Mandara, still bound and pressed against Tonta's stomach, was speechless, shaking, and close to fainting.


	4. Ch 4: Apparently Useless

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**I'm sorry that it took forever to update this fanfiction. I don't have any excuse other than that I couldn't quite stop where it sounded good. laugh But it's finished, coming in at an enormous 6000 words! Which makes it my largest piece of writing ever. Have fun reading! I look forward to hearing everyone's comments.

_Legend of Zelda_ races and locations mentioned in this fanfiction are © Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. But all original characters, such as Mandara, Tonta and Gor Dendai, are © Red-Lynx.

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**Chapter Four:**

**_Apparently Useless_**

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Shallow pools of water vibrated softly, distorting the dark reflections within them. A drip fell from the moist ceiling to converge with the surface of the nearest pool, exploding into a ring of tiny droplets. The faint 'blip' of the splash resonated, slightly muffled by the spear-like leaves of the plants accenting the cavern.

The Hylian stared into the surface of the smoothest puddle, taking in her reflection with a slight wince of displeasure. Every inch of her skin on her face was inflamed, as if she had been sunburned. Upon closer inspection, small patches of peeling skin flaked and lifted from her forehead and cheekbones like old snakeskin. Mandara touched her cheek with two fingers and cringed. When she lifted them away, two white imprints remained against the blush.

That wrinkled old Goron... His name was Gor Dendai. It was a name she knew she would remember, literally burned into her memory. Tonta had been complaining about him and his ways as he carried her, limp in his arms, to the grotto.

From a hole at the far end of the ceiling behind her, a pillar of bright sunlight illuminated a circular marble platform beneath it, worn smooth from age. Markings illustrating faeries and vines still wound in shallow grooves around its edges. Against the brightness of this white platform was the silhouette of a massive figure, its spiked hair and shoulders cutting into the rays of light, making their edges jagged against the ground below.

"Now what are you looking at?" Tonta grumbled, staring into the hole at Mandara, who was still hunched over the water.

"It still hurts a lot," she responded slowly, every word spoken with careful and minimal movement, "Even when I talk."

"Then stop poking your face." She ignored him and took a long drag from her water skin. Making sure to not disturb the dirt in the pool, she refilled it until it was nearly full before speaking again.

"Why... do I have to stay in here?"

"Because Gor Dendai would get on my case if I kept you in the city somewhere. I don't need you getting me into more trouble." Mandara frowned slightly, limited by her burn. "But honestly!" he continued, "The last thing I wanted to do was become your personal bodyguard."

"Well, what did yo--ugh!" She winced again. "What did you think would happen if you saved me?"

"What I wanted before: you back in Kakariko and out of my hair." Mandara, obviously offended, retreated to the back of the cave, next to a pile of scratched-up cow bones.

Whatever it was that had stripped the carcass clean, it was long gone, for no odor of rotted flesh lingered, and the violent, three-toed gashes across them were dull-edged. These yellowed artifacts would have normally disturbed, or even intrigued her to ponder them, but she was too absorbed in her distaste. After what had happened last night, she had wondered... She had assumed the guard had saved her because he had been actually concerned.

-----

Tonta hunched over in a dark mood, tapping the hours away on his right knee with an agitated hand. He could hear his prisoner beneath him. She sat on the platform, with her back bathed in the light that reached around him into the hole. Vigilant as he was supposed to be, he could care less about what she could be doing.

Tap tap tap.

Every tap was a second of time wasted watching the hole beside him. He could be working in the mines and being productive right now, but no... He had to sit out here in the blinding sunlight, watching this girl while his workers wondered why he wasn't at the cavern by now.

Tap tap tap.

It was boring as hell.

He wanted to move, to work out, to blow rock to pieces, to hear the sounds of the mountain around him. But he couldn't.

Just because he was a babysitter.

Tap tap ta--

"GRAH! I can't take this anymore!" he shouted, causing the girl below to start. "I'm not going to just sit around and let you bore me to death. Cummere!" He reached into the hole and grabbed Mandara by the arm, who squawked as she was yanked out without warning.

The human barely had time to orient herself before Tonta started hiking down the mountainside. Shelves of rock stuck out like giant's stairs beneath their plateau. At the bottom of the hill, a long pole displayed a tattered red rag. Its streamers blew downwind, directing the pair along the trail. It wasn't long before the gaping mouth of a massive cave, as wide as three Goron's arm spans, appeared before them. A stuffy, familiar smell emitted from it, and Mandara felt her insides squirm.

"Cummon," he grunted as he pulled on her struggling hand. She unwillingly followed him into the darkness. The wall under her hand was roughly carved, and led straight into the heart of the mountainside. As their eyes slowly adjusted, sharp outlines could be made out on the floor before them: three pairs of rails perfectly spaced from one another, punctuated with wooden slats. Tonta stumbled and swore in Goron as he stubbed his toe on the nearest metal rail. "Where's the stupid torch that's supposed to be lit in here? I can't see a damned thing."

"Tonta, goro? Where've you been?" a voice echoed from ahead of them, accompanied by the grating of metal even further beyond it. A dancing flame bloomed in the hands of another Goron. "Sorry there was no light, goro. The passage torches ran out of tinder, and I was just going there to replace them..."

"Just do it now, Brother. It's not safe to wander around like that in the dark." He said this with a cross expression, still tender in his big toe.

"Yes Brother!" The Goron ran past with a small bundle of powder in his hand, and soon the passage was brightly illuminated by the rows of torches along either wall. As he doubled back, he took a long gaze at Mandara, from which she shrunk away. Tonta just gave him a furrowed stare as if to say, "Don't even question it," and the Goron backed off.

The end of the tunnel opened up into a broad, steaming room, thick with muggy heat from the lava pit below them. Upon the ledge that they stood on, the rails descended over the edge onto a central platform and separated, each one following a long winding track over the pit and snaking into a hallway somewhere along the edge of the room. On that large platform sat the iron mine carts, each laden to overflowing with the spoils of the mine. As well, a group of six or so Gorons talked and gestured amongst themselves, occasionally reaching for a small handful of rock to shove into their mouths between sentences. The torch-lighting Goron stumbled across several small platforms to join them. He was about to take an especially promising slab of shiny ore from the pile, but Tonta harrumphed loudly. Half of the group flinched, fumbling with the food in their hands. The other half purposely dropped their meals on the floor or shoved them into the lava.

"Brothers," he said, one hand on his hip, "I thought we had specified that we take our _own_ lunches into the mines instead of taking out of the carts." A chorus of excuses followed, save for one or two of the men, who waved empty food pouches in the air.

One of the guilty Gorons spoke up. "The storage gets all the rock we mine in here anyways, goro. I still don't see the harm in snacking on some food a little earlier in the progress, goro." Tonta smirked.

"Just snacking? Most of the time you end up eating half a cart by yourself, Rustu. Just bring your meals in here with you and who knows? Maybe a diet will help you lose a few pounds." A smiling Rustu embarrassedly scratched his neck, and the whole group burst into throaty laughter. Mandara, who was feeling extremely out of place, squirmed and wiped sweat away from her eyes. The nearest Goron caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see her with an exceptional amount of surprise.

"Wha... Why on the mountain do you have a human with you, goro?" The rest of the troop shifted around, finally noticing their new visitor as well, who promptly tried to hide behind her guard. Tonta's smile twitched slightly at their stares and pointed fingers.

"Aw, Gor Dendai forced me to be her babysitter until Big Brother came back to deal with her. He wanted me to take time off work, but-" He gave her a firm smack on the back, and she coughed, "-I think we could put her to use down here instead." The nearest Goron frowned and scratched at his shoulder.

"You're just trying to force her on us so you can do what you want, goro." Tonta frowned back and pulled the hesitant Mandara from the ledge onto the platform steps. Her legs swayed uncomfortably as the rock beneath her bobbed ever so slightly in the sea of flame.

"Don't be stupid, Ardan," he said, striding easily across the pit. "How could I leave you guys alone to work?" He let go of her hand and gave her back a little push towards them. "Cummon, introduce yourself." In truth, he had already forgotten her name, but he didn't want to make that apparent around his workers.

She tried to avoid looking in their eyes, her face prickling from the heat. "I'm... I'm Mandara--"

"Waitaminute," Ardan interrupted, "Didn't Big Brother say to keep intruders off the mountain, goro? Why is she-"

"Circumstances." Tonta said flatly. Ardan quickly shut up. The Goron apparently named Rustu gave her a quick smile and offered his hand. Mandara slowly took it, only because he expected her to.

"Well I think it's a nice change to see a new face, goro. As long as she doesn't do anything to me personally, I'll be perfectly fine, goro." Whether that was a compliment or not, Mandara couldn't tell. The rest of the group just shrugged their shoulders and set out pushing the overflowing carts across the pit towards the entrance of the mines.

"Cummon," Tonta waved for Mandara to follow him. "I'll give you your instructions."

-----

By the time that they were all set up for work, the sun had just passed the apex of noon, and was shining crisply just past the mouth of Dodongo's Cavern. The mining carts were all set and unloaded for another shift of production, and Tonta leaned upon the cart on the leftmost track, rolling his eyes impatiently as he explained the instructions, yet again, to the incompetent Mandara. Her work partner, a rather buff and dark-tanned Goron named Tuuslo, restlessly shifted from foot to foot.

"Okay, look. All you have to do is wait until I send up the cart to you and Tuuslo. Then you two take the rocks from there, unload them into that wheelbarrow," At this moment he pointed behind them, where it leaned casually against the wall, "and take it outside to the marked pole up the hill. The other workers up there will deal with them. Got it?"

"I think so..." Mandara said at last, after hearing this for the third time. She fidgeted with the end of her braid, and couldn't help but glance constantly at the entrance, taunting her with its welcoming circle of sunlight. How it teased her!

"Finally," he groaned, motioning to his own partner Rustu, who was already starting down the passage with the empty cart in tow. "Cummon Brothers, we've got a lot of work to catch up on today, so hop to it! And remember: the human won't bite, but she's not allowed to leave without a supervisor with her." The other five Gorons on the tracks grumbled in response. Tuuslo gave Mandara a jerky little pat, as she watched Tonta disappear down the tunnel.

"Dun worry 'bout a thing, goro," he assured with a thick accent, "It's pretty easy once ya know 'bout da routine, goro." She wasn't too sure about doing the work. That barrow looked awful heavy.

A dull series of bangs rang out of the cavern, startling Mandara. Tuuslo just chuckled and took his place at the end of his track. "Ya'd better get used to da noise too, goro. Can't just twitch like dat every time, goro." Mandara felt herself blush slightly, unidentifiable from her burn.

A faint clatter of iron wheels announced their cart. It zoomed towards them, already overflowing with rich, burnt chunks of stone. Tuuslo locked his arms in front of himself and tensed. Her eyes widened as it approached her partner with incredible speed.

_He's going to get run over! _she thought in fearful awe. But he could not be swayed. In a superior display of strength, he took the blow head-on! Veins bulged in his arms and feet scraped against the ground as he slid backwards a couple feet. For a moment, he wrestled with the cart's momentum, but in the end he victoriously ground it to a halt. He let out an excited breath and massaged his palms briefly before filling his arms with rock.

"Cummon, goro! Start gettin' da load inta da 'barrow, goro!" He threw his armload into the barrow with a metallic clang.

"Oh!" She reached inside and shoveled a large pile into her arms. But when she went to lift them from the cart, the weight was too much. Almost all of the stones fell from her grip and scattered noisily around her, several large ones bouncing off of her toes. She squeaked and tried to shake the pain away, and Tuuslo just laughed again. She reached down and picked up the rock: a much smaller amount this time. By the time that she made about four trips back and forth, the barrow was almost empty solely from Tuuslo's efforts.

"'Kay den, how 'bout ya take da barrow out while I push da cart back, goro?" Mandara just stared at him with disbelief, but there was no choice; he was already well on his way down the passage. She paced around the massive wagon, and then tried to lift it. It was just as she suspected: she couldn't budge it.

"How to move this..." she muttered. The Goron workers stopped for a moment to watch their new worker as she braced herself against the wall, and slowly toppled the cart onto its side with her feet. The scattered stones were gathered into a pile next to the wheelbarrow, and she lifted only half of them into it. She tried again to pick it up: this time, with a little grunting, it managed to stay above the ground, although it wobbled and wandered like a drunkard as she pushed it towards the exit. One of the workers in the rightmost pair, while his partner awaited their cart, followed her outside. She sighed, knowing that escape wasn't an option in these mines.

It was a slow ten minutes before she came back inside, panting and aching in her arms. Tuuslo was leaning against the wall next to the pile of discarded ore, with another full cartload waiting.

"Dat took a while, goro," he said. Mandara wheezed and dropped the cart.

"I'm... I'm sorry," she panted, "It's... It's just really heavy..." He smiled and started loading the remainder of the ore pile into the barrow. Mandara felt her calf muscles strain when she bent down too.

"Dat's okay, goro. I know ya humans ain't very strong compared to ma Bro's. We'll just do each load in halves so ya can still help, goro."

"Great... thanks," she said sarcastically, taking the cart for another wobbly trip. Knowing that there wouldn't be much else to do, Tuuslo followed as her escort.

--------

Tonta rubbed his forehead with the back of his sweaty hand, and kicked some excess rubble out of the way under his feet. The end of the tunnel was piled up with chunks of precious ore, sorted carefully by mineral content and color scheme. Of course, they usually didn't have the time to do such things like this. He looked crossly over his shoulder towards Rustu, who was barely visible in the nook he was slowly carving in the wall nearest to the rail.

"What's taking them so long?" he complained. "We should have been able to make three more trips by now!" Rustu poked his head out.

"Patience, Brother. You were the one who put the human on our team, goro. She won't be as efficient as us, goro."

"Well, I didn't think she'd slow us down _this _much. She'd better start learning soon..." Rustu shook his head and meandered over to pick a bulging pod from the plant nearby. A hiss sounded as it ignited in his hands. The Goron disappeared, a smoky explosion shot from in the cranny, and he stepped out coughing and waving the air clean.

"Ah-hem! ...I actually think it's kind of cute that you decided to keep her, despite all of the havoc that's been happening as of late, goro."

"Cute?" Tonta said, a pout playing on his lips. "It's not supposed to be cute."

"You've always had a soft spot for humans, goro. Don't deny it." Laughing, he ducked a swift rock aimed at his forehead. Tonta readied more ammo, but heard a faint clatter of wheels fading in from the distance. Both men turned in time to see their cart gliding down the slope.

"It's about time!" Tonta said, relieved. Rustu laughed at his eager partner, who was almost toppling over with arms full of rock.

-----

The sunlight was pouring into the cavern's entrance, their longest beams stretching to the very ends of the mining rails. The scratched and dusty iron shone wearily. Tonta, bearing the cart as he tromped up the passage with Rustu right behind, took a long and irritated look at the remaining rock pile by Mandara's feet. She and Tuuslo stopped loading up the wheelbarrow for a moment, and tried to cover their embarrassment. Tonta stepped forward first, hands on his hips.

"Oh cummon. Don't tell me that you've been doing this the entire time?" Tuuslo straightened up and rubbed his neck.

"Well... Splittin' loads was da only way she could move da barrow, so... yeah, goro." He was obviously ashamed; he'd never gotten in trouble with his team leader before. Tonta scowled and scooped the rest of the rock in one armful, turning to Mandara.

"Really, you shouldn't be slowing us down this much," he said as he dumped the load into the barrow. "Try a little harder to be productive."

"But she was tryin', goro!" Tuuslo piped up, "As hard as a human could, goro!" Mandara nodded vigorously, still massaging her muscles. "Dun expect too much from her on her first day too, ya know, goro." Rustu slowly nodded along with them, causing Tonta to drop his head despairingly.

"Just do better tomorrow..." he said at last, guiding Mandara by the forearm out to the cliff trail. She bit her lip doubtfully.

--------

It can't be said that she didn't try to be a bit more useful around the mines. The other workers thought it was actually funny that they had a human trying to do a Goron's job among them. They joked and laughed about the concept, and didn't have to try hard to crack a smile around her and Tuuslo. The pair didn't really appreciate the extra attention, but it was bearable.

However, Mandara soon became more trouble than she was worth. Her second day was no better than the first. Her movements were much more stiff and unforgiving because of her aching muscles, and at least four times she ended up dropping the loaded barrow. Countless rocks were spilled. Her mood also grew worse with her pain, and she became more withdrawn and tense with every hour. Tuuslo tried to keep her encouraged, but his calm demeanor was beginning to break under stress. At the end of her second day, she and her partner only managed to transfer half of their set quota, resulting in Tonta complaining about being up to his knees in excess rubble.

By the third day, even the most cheerful Goron in that cavern found their patience grating, where Mandara's incompetence was starting to affect the other teams. Her haphazard steering and caused quite a few minor collisions that resulted in spilled loads.

Ardan took no time in complaining to Tonta that evening, after an almost hilarious incident involving Tuuslo taking a speeding cart to the face.

-----

"She's a horrible distraction, Brother! Can't you see she's a hazard to our workers, goro?" Ardan waved his arms around in frustrated circles above his head. Behind him, Mandara paced around the carnage. The mine cart lay helpless on its side, a massive wave of rock and sand spilled out around it like a pool of blood. "I mean, look at poor Brother Tuuslo! His face is almost as swollen as his belly now, goro!" Tuuslo sat propped up against the wall, rubbing a damp cloth over his cheek. It was indeed swollen to almost twice its size, and the area around it and his eye was darkening into an ugly bruise.

"It was an accident I'm sure," Tonta said, his eyes half-closed in thought. "We'll just clean up this mess and get back to work tomorrow." Ardan just flailed more threateningly.

"Accident, goro? Can you call _all_ of these stupid little happenings 'accidents'?! We could've gone a few days without you working, but you and your ego think that we're all lost without you, goro! So you bring us this little hell-raiser and push her onto us so you don't have to take the responsibility, goro!"

"It's not like that at all!" Tonta said. Ardan raised his right arm and shoved it in front of Tonta's face. A thin circlet of brass encircled the wrist, merging into a raised metal disk with three triangles. Tonta tensed his right forearm, feeling his own matching bracelet squeeze against the muscle and cloth.

"Just remember that you aren't the only certified trainer here, goro. I could just as easily guide the other workers as you, goro. " He snapped his hand back down to his side, and gave Mandara a glare that forced her behind the toppled cart. Tonta defensively stepped in his path of sight.

"Just stop taking out your frustration on her, okay? She doesn't know her place yet."

"Apparently neither do you, goro!" He curled up and rolled his way past. "Gor Dendai'll hear of this!" yelled his muffled voice. Tonta's eyes shot open in horror. He stepped in front of the Goron and held back the skidding mass of angry rock.

"Hold on Brother!" he grunted, "If this is my problem, then let me solve it! I'll talk to the elder for you." Ardan uncurled and scoffed.

"You seem awfully concerned now that the elder's involved, goro." His eyes were narrowed with suspicion.

"Seriously, I'll deal with it. He gave her to me, so I'll get this under control." Ardan shrugged off his worker's hands and began cleaning up the mess.

Mandara's eyes wandered like her feet; without any motivation, lost in her constant thought. They kept falling back on the injured Goron, who still gave off the occasional moan as another sting of pain jabbed into him. As Tonta strolled out, he gave Rustu a small tap on the shoulder.

"Brother, could you escort Mandara to the plateau cave and watch her for a little bit? I promise I won't be long." Rustu nodded briskly, and took Mandara's hand to lead her from the cavern.

-----

Tonta took no hesitation in rushing up to the elder's chambers, hoping to reach him before any stories of the mishap did. He didn't even greet any of his Brothers along the way, leaving a mob of scoffing Gorons in his wake complaining about lack of etiquette. He knocked on the carpeted stone door at the heart of the city, and upon hearing a muffled "Cummin, goro," from within, he slid the door aside with some difficulty. Gor Dendai, seated in the center of the chamber wreathed in smoke, looked up from his work tablets and frowned.

"Oh, it's you..." he said disappointedly. "I was hoping someone important needed me, goro."

"You're your charming self as usual, elder," Tonta grunted, before remembering why he had come. "Uh, I was hoping to discuss--"

"That human you dragged in the other day, right? Just tell me what stupid thing it did so we can get rid of it, goro." Tonta restrained the urge to comment, and put on a forced smile.

"Actually, I've been watching over her like you said, and there have been some problems in the mines because of my absence--" Gor Dendai cracked a dry laugh, and Tonta coughed for attention. "Because of my absence, and I was hoping that we could... work something out, so that I can still go to work while using the girl productively." The elder scrutinized him for a moment.

"What do you mean, 'work something out', goro? Don't tell me you want that _thing_ working in the mines with you, goro." Tonta twitched out of impulse.

"Oh, of course not!" he laughed, "Why would I do that?" Gor Dendai raised an eyebrow; he was losing his patience. "No, no, I was thinking more... simply. How do you feel about having breakfast served to you in the morning?" There was a pause. Then, a slow smirk surfaced through the elder's wrinkled cheeks, and he picked at his beard with the stump of his right index finger.

-----

"You want me to be a slave?!" Mandara yelled. Her voice was magnified within the cavern's tiny expanse. Tonta waved his hands before his chest in denial.

"Not a slave! A task-worker. You'd just do some odd jobs for the Gorons in the city, like lighting the torches and delivering meals... It would be way easier than working in the mines. You'd still be supervised, but not by me, so I can still go to work." By how hard her teeth were clenched, she wasn't buying his explanation.

"First you save me so you can get rid of me, then you make me stay so I can work for you. What exactly do you want out of me?!" Tonta stopped himself from responding and watched Mandara stomp to the back of the cave, kicking apart mounds of wet dirt along the way. He grumbled and climbed clumsily back out into the waning light, where Rustu sat with crossed legs next to the hole. The expression on his face was vaguely perturbed.

"Well, she didn't take that well, did she, goro?" he said once his friend had wrested himself out of the opening. Tonta rolled his eyes to the sky, which now showed the slightest hints of stars.

"Stupid human. It's like she expects me to put my tribe dignity aside for her sake." Rustu gave him a brotherly slap on the back.

"She'll come to appreciate it in time, goro. It's not like it's a permanent job. They say Big Brother is due back by the end of the week, and he should be able to sort this all out, goro." Tonta gave him a half-assed smile.

"Let's hope so." Tonta stood up and gave a quick nod in the direction of the flagged trail. "I'm headed down to the mines for a bite to eat before it gets too dark. Would you mind watching her for just ten more minutes?" Rustu laughed into his knuckles.

"You're such a hypocrite, Brother Tonta," he said, watching him tumble loudly down the mountainside and around the corner. His gravelly thumps faded into echoes, and Rustu sat back on his hands, alone again.

-----

Beneath him, Mandara paced about, unable to satisfy her twitching. Her sore and aching body wasn't helping with her demeanor either. _Nothing's going as planned! _she stormed, _The last thing I wanted to be was a Goron hand-maiden. _Her face glowed with frustration and a bevy of other emotions, but no matter how much she vented, that horrid sinking feeling just wouldn't leave her.

She heard scraping and saw a scraggly chin rest against the edge of the hole. "Any other bad news you've managed to come up with?" The face became confused, and she slowly realized that it wasn't the guard.

"I'm just here to keep an eye on you, goro," he said.

"Just to keep an eye on me?" she said, slowly pacing her way towards the entrance. "I'm not so happy with having to be babysat and mistrusted all the time. I just want to leave, that's all!" The Goron shifted around uncomfortably at her tone, a bit unhappy with being a vessel for her frustration. But he stayed firmly by the entrance.

"I'm sorry that I can't do that for you," he said with an earnest gesture of his upended palm, "It's all very complicated, and I don't have the authority to convince anyone otherwise right now, goro." She walked a little faster towards him, temper breaking.

"No one seems to care how_ I_ feel about all this! All I wanted was an apology and some money, but I ended up with noth--ahh!"

She stumbled on something, and landed hard on her forearms. By the cool smoothness she felt, it must have been the marble platform. The Goron quietly asked if she was okay, but she ignored him and tried to get up onto her knees. The smooth surface under her began to hum: quietly at first, but growing louder. A faint white light swirled within the rock between her hands.

"What the?" they both said aloud. Mandara looked up just in time to see the Goron's widening expression, before the light burst to life brighter than a Deku Nut's flash! Her body soared straight up, knocking the Goron in the chin and onto his back. Spinning through the sky, she landed with a hard 'whumph' at the base of the plateau, winded and dizzy. Rustu moaned loudly about his jaw.

"Mnnn..." she groaned, rubbing her sore parts as she sat up. It took a moment for it to dawn on her. "Waitaminute, I'm outside!" Mandara leaped drunkenly to her feet, and sprinted down the trail in the growing twilight, not caring whether she was missing her possessions or not. She could hear her captor yell frantically and his body crashing down the rock behind her.

-----

Tonta strolled from the mouth of Dodongo's Cavern, casually munching on his handful of red ore. A scrawny long-eared girl swept past at full gallop, with a distressed boulder following close behind. He stopped dead, dinner forgotten. "Aw, cummon!" he cried, curling up to join the chase. Amidst the rumble of their bodies, he yelled to Rustu, who wheeled inches from his own body. "I leave you alone for a moment and you let her get out?!"

"I swear it wasn't my fault, goro! That old fairy platform reactivated!" Tonta swore in Goron and pushed his body to roll faster. The girl was surprisingly fast, and was gaining too much ground.

The race was on! The Goron pair teetered on a ledge just above the walking trail, with Mandara panting below them. The lights of Kakariko's houses flickered like fallen stars at the base. _Just keep going! _she willed herself, _Don't collapse while you've got your chance._ The rumble of her pursuers drew closer with every step. She panted into her aching lungs, and kept tripping over mounds of hard-packed dirt. _Just keep going! Keep going! _Their thunder drew above her, but she dared not look. She concentrated at the distanced village, at those growing stars of civilization. _Keep going! Don't stop now!_

Two thumps announced the Goron's descent, and Mandara was swiftly clothes-lined by the guard's arm. Her head banged against the ground and spots spun into her eyes. She brought up a hand to massage the lump. _So close... _she moaned, _I was so close... _

Tonta reached down and stood up Mandara by the scruff of her vest. "You're a hard one to catch," he groaned. Rustu swept the back of his hand over his sweaty forehead.

"Sorry, goro," he apologized, and Tonta shrugged. But his eyes were directed towards Mandara, and he had a bit of a downcast look. He almost seemed regretful. Tonta gripped her forearm and began to lead her back uphill with Rustu in the lead.

"Again with trying to escape?" he complained, gesturing with his free hand. "Really, how many times am I going to have to fetch you before you actually co-operate?" Mandara didn't respond, and instead tripped on a rise in the trail. A metallic sound rasped against the dirt under her sole. Even in the violet engulfed sky, a tiny glint could be seen within the mound... Tonta stopped dead, and whispered:

"Oh goddess's soul."

-----

Rustu paused, feeling the ground beneath him with the tips of his toes. Something didn't seem right, but he paid no heed. Shrugging, he leaned forward into another step.

The mound bent flat beneath his weight, and there was a 'click'.

He only had a moment to look down. The screech of metal sounded, reminiscent of a sword being drawn, and his crisp, tortured screams sounded through the mountain with an animalistic intensity.

Tonta eyes snapped wide and he saw the black figure of Rustu ahead. With all intent of returning Mandara abandoned, he threw her aside to rush to his aid. "Brother! Brother!" he yelled, grabbing Rustu's shoulders. Rustu slowly glanced up, and grasped at a long shaft protruding from his stomach. Its sharp and wicked tip rose from his back. Tonta pulled his glistening hand away from his brother in horror as warmth spilled over it. Blood, dark as night, stained him. Mouth gaping like a fish, he tried to say something.

But nothing could be heard from it. Neither man could speak. One last, rattling breath was drawn, and Rustu died.

-

Silence.

Then, a high-pitched moaning began to tear from Tonta's throat, ebbing and flowing in waves of grief through the mountainside. His fists were clamped to Rustu's limp shoulders, forehead resting against his Brother. Hylian words escaping him, he mouthed his regrets in Goron, in a cracked voice that did not suit him.

Mandara stood mere feet downhill from the two, caught aghast and white-eyed. She watched as the pool of blood from the worker grew, sliding down the shaft of the metal spike, flowing in a stretching oval towards her. _They can bleed... _she thought, _They're not just rocks. They bleed... _

The exposed mound beside her toes glinted, and she jerked in fear of setting it off. But it remained inert, still as steel, sleeping in the trail like before. She kneeled down and gingerly swept off the layer of dirt to expose it. It was a heavy metal arch with a large hole in one end. The inside, from what she could tell, was weighted with springs to keep the metal spike inside until it was stepped on. She tested the arch with her hand. Nothing budged. Shaking, she put her full weight on it, staying clear of the opening, but still nothing.

_Maybe it's only set off by really heavy weights,_ she thought suddenly. A glance up at her unfortunate companion proved that point. Slowly she rose, and the whole plot began to click. She wasn't heavy enough to set off the traps, and there certainly were a lot of them at this part of the mountain. With that sort of obstacle, the guard couldn't do anything to stop her.

This was her chance, her moment of truth, to escape Death Mountain at last!

And yet... her heart tore at the sound of the mourning Goron. His voice had turned to fearful mutters, a jumbled mixture of Goron and Hylian words that Mandara could barely recognize. Dark violet eyes swept the ground in tight, lost circles.

"Unugoro... Traps, goro... I don't want to die... Hendera goron... I can't see them, goro..." He was a nervous shell, a shadow of the man that she had grown accustomed to.

But freedom was so close to her now... If she did stay... There would be no more chances to get away.

_But..._ She cringed at the pool of blood._ It's not just the Hylians that have all the pain right now. They're getting killed just like we are... Bleeding... and dying. _The blank face of Rustu bored into her with its slack-mouthed and emotionless stare. She couldn't take it; her insides were torn between freedom and morality.

-----

Tonta breathed heavily as he scoured the landscape, not moving an inch from the body's side in fear. He grimaced at his selfish thoughts of self-preservation, but meeting a death as painful and as horrid as Rustu's was a thought he needed to avoid. No traps could be seen; not a glint of steel or a mound revealed itself to him in the darkness. So consumed in his thoughts he was, he jumped when the girl, his prisoner no less, stepped to his side with her head craned up to look into his face.

He found some reassurance in her eyes, which watered up with tears that he had not yet managed to shed. A part of him ignored her still, until Mandara slid her hand into his massive palm. It was so small and delicate against his massive fingers.

"Please... let me help you," she whispered, choking on something in her throat. "You don... you don't need to die..."

His expression was distant. "How... how can you help me?" There was a pause.

"The traps... with heavy weight... I..." Her words stumbled, "...Will you let me help?" Slowly, very slowly, part of the horrified knot in his stomach undid itself. He almost could feel himself smile. This was one of the reasons why he liked humans... He gave a slow nod.

However, he still wouldn't move when she tried to step forward.

"But let me get Brother's body first..." he said quietly, "It's too disrespectful to leave him like this..." She couldn't watch him pull the man off the pike, but the sound of his wet body sliding off of it was terrible.

-----

Their movements were slow and cautious, enraptured in their goal of survival. Tenderly, the girl shuffled forward. Whenever her toes hit a bump, she stopped and rubbed her feet over it, listening for the rasp of metal, and looking for its telltale glimmer. If the coast was clear, she would take another few steps forward, and repeat the inspection again. If not, she squeezed the guard's hand in warning. Then he would mime her footsteps around the trap, with Rustu's body slung over his right shoulder.

Shuffle, rub, sidestep... Shuffle, rub, step... A simple dance with death that they were determined to master, if only just for tonight.

-----

The half-lit moon was well into its nightly course across the sky, providing barely ample light to any wanderers outside. The unlucky Goron on duty for that night's watch, a lazy man with loose gravel stubble and a muddy loincloth, squinted into the shadows of the boulders. His sleep was catching up to him, and whether he was going to be able to stay awake for the next hour of his shift was unknown. But when boredom seemed imminent, movement caught his eye. A tiny form trundled slowly forward from around the corner, and he prepared to drive away the intruder, for they were obviously not a Goron.

But the silhouette behind the form was, and the limp body of another upon his shoulders was enough to send the night guard into a worried jog.

Mandara looked to Tonta, who was downcast and deep in thought. The terrain was familiar now, and she could hear the night guard yelling incomprehensibly. This place was safe now; no one could set traps this close to the Gorons' home.

A deep croak, perhaps of relief, emitted from the guard before he spoke. "...Why did you help me?" his voice rasped. She gave Tonta's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"You saved my life once already... Now we're even."

He squeezed back, and mouthed, "Thank you."


	5. Ch 5: The Tasks at Hand

I apologize for the wait. Scholarships and school caught up with me in the worst of ways, and I gave up writing time in order to correct some life problems. But I'm back and ready to go!

Legend of Zelda races and locations mentioned in this fanfiction are © Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. But all original characters: Mandara, Tonta, Tuuslo, Gor Azunai, and Gor Dendai, are © Red-Lynx.

* * *

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_**Chapter Five:**_

**The Tasks at Hand**

**--**

There was barely any light to see by. Naked slivers of orange and yellow in the east were the only indications of the approaching morning. In the waning darkness, a lone Goron carved delicate, angular runes. The quill-like knife was fixed into his fingers like an extension of his hand. A perfectly smooth stone shaped like a dewdrop, sat patiently in his palm as he worked. His gentle scraping slowly revealed the whiteness within the stone that glowed against its dark grey exterior.

At the edge of the cliff behind him, Mandara stood, caught in the silence of the morning. She tried not to seem disrespectful, but she couldn't help but stifle a yawn. What little sleep she had gotten last night had been restless and filled with blood.

Below her, if she listened hard enough, there was the scraping of Gorons at work all along the mountainside. From their high vantage point, all that she could see were small groups of black figures hurrying like ants up and down the trails, daring to step as close as the last footholds of the mountain before the Kakariko entrance. Glints of dirty metal spikes caught the light as they were dug up and carried away for disposal, leaving pits and scars in the path. She could see some of the nearest devices and their taut, thick springs stretched as tall as a full grown man. Like the coiled muscles of a predator, they flexed and bragged their lethality as the pinnacle of the human's resistance against the mountain men. _"No one's invincible," _she thought, pushing away the worst memories of last night.

The rock on Tonta's back crackled as he stood. He heaved a mighty sigh, and observed his handiwork. Looking up into his eyes only revealed a lackluster violet, a great sadness that consumed them from deep inside. In this light, his eyes were almost black.

"What does it say?" The rock, scarred with runes, sat atop the grave mound. Tonta took a moment to mutter them to himself in Goron before translating.

"Your body was strong. Your spirit was stronger. May Din take back her blood and leave you a peaceful rest in the land, Brother Rustu." His voice was so low it was almost drowned out by the mountain as it gave off another restless growl.

Mandara felt a lump choke her throat. Even though she only had known him for a few days, she felt that he had been one of her closer, and only, allies. It was even worse to think of what Tonta was feeling. He actually had known him as a Brother, a close one at that.

Even with all of this emotion heaped upon him, no tears were upon his cheeks. His pride as a man showed no weakness. Mandara swallowed hard and wiped her eyes with a dirty sleeve. Other mounds could be seen behind Rustu's. Their letters also shone with a fainter luminescence. Eighteen stones could be counted, spaced side by side.

There was a moment of respectful silence, hands folded and heads bowed together. Tonta was the first to interrupt it. He turned towards the mountain's peak, to gesture at a ledge far above ringed in a thin fence. "We'll be going there today: Goron City," he said with a stronger voice, although still echoing with a husk, "You'll be starting your work."

She adjusted her pack and followed him as he plodded up the road, their heads hanging low.

--

The entrance of Goron City came into view by the time the sun finally decided to appear on the horizon. Upon a platform, a circle of stones bearing long, dark shadows guarded the doorway. Each one had a rune etched into them, although they were so shallowly cut, deciphering them apart from natural cracks was difficult. Mandara had stopped to look as she passed. "Cummon." Tonta urged her onward onto the stairs.

The entire complex was carved into the mountain, smooth-walled and descending downwards in layered levels like an epic coliseum. Gorons of all ages and kinds were already awake and active: rolling, talking, laughing, wrestling with each other, carrying bags and barrels and wagons of supplies to and fro. The faint rhythm of twin drums beat in harmony from somewhere, and a unison of male voices hummed along with the theme they struck. It was an uplifting tune that seemed almost inappropriate to the somber mood the pair held, but it helped Mandara. Dwelling all day would not help her to work, so she resolved to hold her head a little higher despite.

Tonta held his hand roughly in the small of her back and led her down countless flights of stairs to a wide corridor. A stone door in the right wall admitted him. He disappeared into the room, and then reappeared carrying a wide clay bowl, laden with rich, earthen chunks.

"Your first task would usually be relighting the torches in the community hall, but someone else already took care of that for today." He handed Mandara the bowl, which nearly toppled her with its weight. "So you'll be delivering breakfast to the elders and to the Mountainai this morning. Follow me. I'll show you the way." Mandara struggled to wrap her arms around the bowl and stay upright, and her back strained.

"Urgh... I thought that you had to work in the mines?" His features darkened.

"We all took the day off to pay Brother Rustu respect. There's enough food in storage. I'm sure the city'll survive." He was already around the corner, waving with his bracelet hand, and Mandara waddled after him, remembering to keep Rustu and anything related to him out of further conversation.

--

They reached what Tonta called the community hall. It was the most massive room at the heart of the city, stretching upwards and outwards. Many Gorons congregated in smaller groups to chat and eat, with carpets, drums, and other accessories laid out against the walls for the public to use. In the very center of the room, a tall stone urn rotated slowly. It dwarfed Tonta as he walked past its feet. Mandara stared upwards into its three faces in awe, trying to imagine the stonemason who had stood carving it.

Tonta stopped by the largest door alongside its rightmost torch. He crossed his arms and shrugged a shoulder towards the doorway. Mandara approached it with a look of discomfort, and seeing as her arms were full, she gave it a sharp kick. Pain sparked up her foot.

"Come in, goro," a gruff voice said. She looked to Tonta, but his back was to her. He was walking back and leaving her alone to her duty. A few softer kicks later, movement could be heard faintly inside. "What? Is the door jammed or something, goro?" It slid aside with Gor Dendai's imposing figure standing over her, one hand on the door. His face scrunched up as if he had whiffed something foul. "Oh. It's the human," he said disappointedly. His coal eyes wandered down into the bowl, and his lips puckered.

"Your breakfast..." Mandara said with a tight expression, barely able to look at him. The soreness in her face intensified.

"You'd better not have touched these rocks with your bare hands. I don't need my breakfast contaminated, goro." He left the door ajar for the girl and took his usual spot in the center of the room on his carpet. Nothing seemed to have changed from before, aside from the statue's replacement against the wall, but another man was present with Gor Dendai, even more shriveled and frail-looking than he.

This elder's gnarled right hand jerked and caught on worn hinges as it rubbed his pointed beard, hanging like stalactites from his chin. Sagging, leathery skin hung off of his limbs, crusted with cracked ivory stone all along his sides and neck. Although his facial features were sunken like a skull's, he had a kind, somewhat dazed look in his dark eyes. He smiled with a mouth of broken teeth upon her entrance.

"Aaah, eet's a Hyreen, goro! Weeth ore for our breakfasts even, goro. Such a naice gesture, goro..." His high-pitched voice was laden with age. Mandara smiled faintly and set the bowl before the two men with a quick bow. It was hard to decipher what the older man had just said because of his accent. Staring at the ground, she quietly inched backwards, but Gor Dendai's growl froze her in place.

"Formalities aren't going to get you out, goro," he snapped as he snatched up the largest slab from the bowl. "Kneel there." He pointed with his ring finger at a thin red rug, spread within arm's reach of him and his fellow elder. "You're staying until me and Gor Azunai are done eating so you can take the bowl, goro." She gave him a stare of contempt that was answered by another of the elder's. "You're not going to force me to put it away and make me mad, are you, goro?" Mandara forced on a neutral face. She was only a guest here, and she was unfortunately at his mercy.

With legs crossed on the corner of the rug, the Hylian sat as far away as she could from him without being on the ground. He growled again. "I said kneel, human! Show respect for your elders!" He smashed his fist upon the ground, and she jumped into position, with her back iron-rod straight and fists digging into her thighs. The floor underneath the rug was horridly uneven and dug into her kneecaps, but she would not show any more weakness in front of this man. He enjoyed it too much.

Gor Dendai savored every bite of stone with infuriating slowness, chewing deliberately and loudly. Every crumb of stone that fell on his lips needed to be licked away with a disgusting slurp of his pale tongue, and he sucked his teeth clean before diving into another bite. The noise forced Mandara to hold back bile. Nonchalantly, Gor Dendai would cast a glance at her from the corner of his narrowed eyes. She avoided his interrogating gaze for fear of the queasiness of her stomach increasing, and instead focused on the other man.

He was slow as well, but not out of spite like Gor Dendai. He was simply the victim of cruel age. His arm shook spastically and struggled to reach for the platter. It barely held its food beneath a limp wrist, and more times than not the rock would clatter to the floor before it reached his lap, forcing the poor elder to bow his back and retrieve it. As he ate, his arm moved enough for her to spy a horrid gash across his shriveled belly, stretching all the way around him from front to back and cutting through his deep green tattoos. It was an old wound, undulating in width and crusted over with the pale glaze of milky rock. Her eyes widened when his left arm rose from his lap, displaying its missing hand.

"_How awful!" _she thought while trying to politely avert her eyes. "_I wonder where he got those scars from."_

"Sooo, Hyreen... Why ees et you come to Taruin, goro?" Mandara jumped slightly, and Gor Dendai paused in mid chew.

"E-excuse me?" she stammered, trying to decipher his thick accent.

"He asked why you're in Taruin, goro," Gor Dendai spat when he was finished with his bite.

"Tarooeen?" She tried to mimic the pronunciation, but failed to keep her lips still like the elders when they spoke.

"That's old Goron for 'Goron City', you twit." Mandara flushed and looked back at the friendly elder for comfort.

"Aw, I sorry, goro," Gor Azunai apologized with a twinkling gaze, "Hyreen is hard ta say, goro. Eet ees nice to see you kind weeth us again. It has 'een so long, goro."

"I'm not here to visit..." she corrected softly, "I'm a worker for the city. One of the Gorons appointed me... I think his name was Tonta." Underneath the elder's beard, his forefinger stroked along the pit of his neck.

"Reeeally, goro? Tonta? He's a naice lad, goro. Although I did not theenk dat he would aid a Hyreen. His fatha' neva really liked his son doing that sort oth--" Gor Dendai coughed on his last bite, but did not hesitate to wolf down three large mouthfuls in succession. "Aw you okay, goro?"

"I'm fine, goro," he muttered quickly, dumping the rest of the rocks onto a clean mat next to him. "We don't need to waste air talking about those two." The bowl was chucked over Dendai's shoulder in Mandara's general direction. It landed heavily and birthed a new row of bruises up her forearms.

"Wait, what's so bad about Tonta and his father?" she gasped, trying to keep the bowl on her lap as she caught her breath.

"Nothing of your business, slave," he growled, spraying wet pebbles from his full mouth as he spoke. She winced at her new title. "Now, get out, or else be punished later, goro." Running backwards out the door, Mandara bowed deeply to the friendly elder, while the other only got a contemptuous glance. Gor Dendai didn't deserve her respect. The stone door slid closed behind her. The arm of Tonta pulled away and returned to leaning on a new wheelbarrow of rock.

"Hurried?" he remarked. She eyed up the barrow in distaste between hasty breaths. It wasn't as big as the other ones, but it looked like it would take just as much effort to lift.

"...I don't like him. Gor Dendai," she said with a grunt as she lifted it off the ground, and Tonta grunted in agreement, motioning for Mandara to follow him up yet another corridor, this one with a soft slope not unlike the path that lead them up to the mountain city in the first place. "That other elder was much nicer though."

"Gor Azunai is definitely the nicer of the two. Too bad he's not the one in charge while Big Brother's off on his errands. Cummon, time is wasting. Biggoron needs his breakfast too." The wheel cried for oil and stumbled, making the girl's progress even more tedious.

"Ngh... Wait, who's Biggoron?" Tonta answered with a wave of his hand towards the tunnel, which basically said, 'You'll find out soon enough.'

--

"B-b-biiiiiiig Goron! B-biggoron!" Like an anxious bellow, her chest heaved in fright. It moved too fast and eager to stoke flames that could warm her clammy hands and limbs.

Outlined by the sunlight and barely awake enough to function was the largest, most menacing Goron she had ever seen, rubbing his eyes and groaning in a thunderous voice at the too-early sun. She would have mistaken him for the mountain's peak had he not moved.

"Hey Brother!" Tonta yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to carry his voice to Biggoron's level. Mandara shook like prairie grass and tried not to faint when the mountain turned towards them. "I've got a new volunteer for your breakfast run!" The Goron moaned loudly again and sent her stomach reeling from the vibrations.

"Nnnn... Wherrrrrrre is he, goro?" He leaned over the crater's edge on his elbows to bring his face down to their level. Biggoron squinted at her, and she could see reflections in his eyes. They were glossy like dark metal mirrors. In them, she could see the slightly distorted figures of herself, sweaty and dirty with the loaded wagon, and Tonta standing calmly behind her with his arms crossed in the guard fashion. "Why... it's a Hylian, goro! And a giiiiiirl at that!" His steamy breath washed over her, reeking of a strong mineral odor.

"_Gorons don't eat Hylians. Gorons don't eat Hylians__,"_ she thought, trying not to panic. Eyeing those broad powerful teeth between his thick lips, it was hard to avoid the image of being swallowed whole, slipping down the tunnel of his gritty throat.

Satisfied with his few minutes of inspection, Biggoron sat back on his haunches and picked up the wagon with a hand that was as long as Tonta was tall. So tightly she had gripped the handles in her distress, Mandara felt herself lift off of the ground. With a squeak, she let go and landed on her rump, scuttling backwards out of the way. Despite how little rock there was for the creature in terms of size, he seemed to be openly satisfied by the meal.

"Deeeelicious ore as usual, Brrrrrother, goro." He chuckled and let the barrow drop with a loud clang. A new dent sprang up in the front, setting the wheel off axis even more than before. Only with the guard's coaxing did she stumble out and retrieve it. The moment the wagon was upright, she sprinted back into the safety of the tunnel. Its cool embrace was quite welcome compared to the hot breath that still lingered on her.

Tonta sighed and waved to his large friend, who gave a quaint wave back before settling back into his seat in the crater. The rumbling voice called after her, and forced dust to scatter from the ceiling. "Please don't be too scared, little girrrrl, goro. I like to have commmmmpany sometimes, goro..."

Alone with the miserable wagon wheel again, Mandara earned a smack from Tonta that jarred her teeth. "Be more respectful next time you're up there. The Mountainai are important figureheads like the patriarch, and scampering around like a Bombchu is almost as bad as insulting him by name." He acted like he had been the one insulted.

"_Figureheads or not," _she grumbled, repressing the urge to throw the wagon aside and stomp off, "_I can't help it if I feel like I'm going to__** be**__ breakfast instead of just the server."_

--

The flame beneath struggled to stay lit, but with her persistence, it darkened in defeat. Mandara groaned as she threw the iron snuffer back over her shoulder, and looked at Tonta expectantly. "Well, that's the last of them," he said, opening the supply door again. She thankfully threw the instrument into the darkness, barely flinching at the loud hollow clang. Her arms wouldn't hold up anymore, and she gave in at last. They dangled like limp rope against her sides. "Now, every day you'll have to light and put them all out, in that order. Return all the instruments in here, and you're done!" She sighed, finally at the end of her long instructional day.

"I thought you were a miner. How do you know all of this?" she asked. Tonta thought with his eyes drawn up for a moment.

"We exchange odd jobs in between our actual work, so I have to do this sometimes so that the others get a break. But with you here, that won't be happening for a while." The Hylian grunted tiredly. "Anyways, I'm back to Dodongo's Cavern tomorrow, so it'll be your job to do everything you're told. In the morning, there'll be one of my Brothers here to watch you while he delivers shipments in the city. He'll be the one with the wheelbarrow that's running up and down the stairs all the time."

He walked Mandara out to the Goron City entrance, and bid her goodnight with a lazy wave over his shoulder. She couldn't believe how late it was already. By how far the moon was in the sky, it must have been close to midnight.

The twinkling stars taunted her like their earthbound sisters in the windows of Kakariko Village below. The more that she thought about it, the harder it was to say her decision had been the right one. Tonta was a kindred soul underneath all that stone, but it was hard to accept her new life among his people. She had that chance to escape. The opportunity had been in her favor, with those traps set everywhere. She could be down there in the inn right now, ready to rent a horse the next morning to ride back to Mairvan.

But a whirlwind of papers and Rero's unconscious body… the rusted spike demon of last night… Death and destruction: that was her reason to stay. If she could get on the elders' good sides, perhaps she could convince one or the other of the men to give her what she needed.

"And then I'll be gone, just like that." The snap of her fingers was surprisingly loud in the night.

No moonlight reached into the cave, aside from the faint beam filtering in from the entrance. Blinded by the darkness, she felt her way along the wall to the back of the cave where her backpack was.

But something beneath her bumped her toes and rolled into the pool with a faint splash. Mandara knelt down and picked up the object, feeling a coarse rope around a bundle of woven, patchy cloth. It unfurled into a weak and limp sleeping blanket, reeking of a faint gunpowder odor.

Something else fell with a soft thump into the dirt from the heart of the blanket. Her fingers felt among the grit for it, and warm smooth wood met her fingertips. The girl couldn't help but smile as she picked up her wooden clasp, smelling faintly of sulfur and iron.


	6. Ch 6: Voices

* * *

Now we're staring to get into the REAL plot of the story. Thanks everyone for being so patient with me over the past few months while I'm sorting out my schoolwork and graduation things. I'll have a lot more time for writing once my scholarships are out of the way!

Official Legend of Zelda races, characters and locations mentioned in this fanfiction are © Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. But all original characters: Mandara, Tonta, Tuuslo, Gor Azunai, and Gor Dendai, are © Red-Lynx.

* * *

--

_**Chapter Six:**_

**Voices**

**--**

It was almost time to work. The sun began to peer out again for its daily hurdle over the mountain. Tuuslo stood at the mouth of the cavern, stretching his tired muscles. He was looking to be in much better health. A damp gauze cloth soaked in mineral water was tied over his right cheek by a long strip of cloth. It stretched over his bridge of his nose and met at the back between spikes of short, blunt rock.

Tonta ambled down the hillside before the cavern, knuckles dragging against the ground, velvet eyes half-lidded. But work didn't wait for the tired. _"A few hours of exploding things should wake me up a bit more,"_ the Goron reasoned.

"G'mornin' Brother!" Tuuslo waved and wiped a trickle of water from his stubble with the back of his hand. Tonta raised his own hand half-heartedly in greeting. "What's wrong with you, goro?"

"Just tired," he yawned, approaching Tuuslo with a gait that rivaled a ReDead's. Tonta grabbed the face cloth and pulled it up. The skin beneath was moist and cool, coloured a swollen black.

"You're doing better than I thought you would," Tonta said as he replaced the compress beside Tuuslo's slightly offset nose.

"Ya, well it takes a lot ta take me outta commission, goro," he replied, puffing his chest. "Good thing I didn't get da corner, goro. Dat sharp thing woulda hurt real bad, goro."

Tonta's eyes grew distant immediately. He marched past with a dark expression, not even uttering a curse when his toe clanged against the cart rail. It didn't take a lot of brainpower to figure out what had offended him. Tuuslo smacked the heel of his hand to his forehead. He ran after his Brother and clapped his hand over Tonta's shoulder.

"'Ey, I didn't mean ta bring dat up, goro! It just sorta slipped out, goro!" The guard brushed Tuuslo's hand off and gave him an empty glance. It forced a shiver out of the miner. He had never seen him so lifeless before.

"I know you didn't mean it," he mumbled, "It's just... hard for me to think about it, Brother..." The memory returned swiftly. Rustu's face reappeared before him, fuzzy and warped like a reflection in a dim pool. Tonta waved his hand angrily, clearing the fog of memory. Those violet eyes hurt him now. All he could see was a milky haze settling over them, dulling their life. "He was too young."

Tuuslo grunted in agreement and somberly looked at the hide straps wrapped around his ankles. "Only 40, goro. Never thought he'd return ta Din so early, and so..." He grimaced and rubbed his sore cheek. "Badly."

They had reached the main chamber of the cavern, with the torches already lit and waiting for the workers to begin excavation. Several of the other groups had yet to arrive for their shifts, but it was never too early to start working. Tonta picked his way to the end of their rail, where his piles of organized ore chunks and the clusters of Bomb Flowers along the wall still remained untouched.

"I'm real sorry it had ta be yer best friend Brother. I wish it'd been someone else, goro." Tuuslo's face was taut. It was a fight to grasp the right words that would pull his partner out of his dreariness. Tonta didn't bother to look up at him as he loosened more rock from the cracked cavern wall, where Rustu had been mining the day before. There was a wide vein of gold ore in the otherwise dull rock, a tasty find that the guard ran his finger over with a sigh.

"It shouldn't have to be anyone. Not Irun, not Rustu, not any Brother..." The mention of their old loading partner made Tuuslo tense.

Irun used to be on their team, he recalled, but he had quit after the Hylian protests began to increase, planning to move towards the safety of the Snowpeak Goron colony. They found out a week after he left that his body had been found in the Zora's River. Whether his drowning had been accidental or not was unknown, but Tuuslo remembered that no other Gorons had dared to leave the mountain afterwards. With good reason.

When found himself reminiscing as badly as Tonta was, he gave his head a hard shake. He was supposed to be the one keeping the mood up, not getting dragged down with it. "So, what're we doing for da worker situation, goro?" He gestured about him into the empty cavern. "All teams're pretty much down a member, and you and I are da only two-man team, goro." Tonta's discouraged scraping at the wall filled the silence for a minute. Finally, the Goron accepted the change of topic and turned to Tuuslo with an earnest, unsure expression.

"Honestly Brother, there isn't anyone left that's properly trained." The clatter of the other team's carts sounded faintly at the mouth the cavern. "And there isn't anyone old enough right now to really start giving any instruction to. We'll just have to deal with being down a few men for now. Once some of our younger Brothers are past the whole tattooing ceremony, me and Ardan can start training up some fresh workers."

"Aaah, I see. Halfta wait until dey aren't boozed up anymore, goro? You know how those first-timers are 'bout becoming adults, goro." Tuuslo pretended to hold a bottle in his hand, and drank deeply from it. Tonta cracked a smile, the first that Tuuslo had seen since that Hylian had come into the mines.

The bandaged Goron saw an opportunity and ran with the joke. Like a tightrope walker, he stepped onto the metal rail, struggling to balance and dump back another swig from his air whisky at the same time. He crossed his eyes and added a few slurred words in Goron that he could barely understand himself. Tonta couldn't hold back any longer, and burst into laughter. Tuuslo nearly fell off the rail, soon caught up in his Brother's contagious laughing.

It was a strange sound, but not unwelcome.

The pair gasped for breath and listened to their voices echo down the cavern hollows. Tonta straightened up, and met his eyes with Tuuslo's. There was a definite spark reignited within them, however faint it was. "I-I needed an excuse to laugh... Thanks for that Brother," he breathed.

With a loving look across his features, the guard approached him, arms spread in invitation of a brotherly hug. Happy to see him in a better mood, Tuuslo stood more upright to accept it.

Tonta's smile became a lopsided smirk. With a loud slap, he smacked Tuuslo's cheek as casually as he would have given him a handshake.

"And of course I'll be waiting until they're all sober. We don't need any more accidents like yours."

"HEY!" He swallowed a painful yell and petted the compress gingerly with his fingertips. Tonta was definitely feeling better. "That was because I was distracted by that girl, goro, not drunk!"

"Sure, we'll just say that," Tonta gestured out of the tunnel and wheeled the cart back and forth in mock impatience.

--

"She's been zooming around back and forth all day, goro!"

"You'd think she'd get to take a break, goro," A sack of torch powder sagged from her belt, half emptied. The only thing that occupied her mind was the growing calluses on her hands and the gnawing hunger growing in her stomach. But she was pushed forward by the nose of a metal wheelbarrow. It poked at the small of her back like an impatient animal.

"Ah well, at least I'm not having to work, goro." The pair of Gorons continued to chat as the Hylian dragged past.

"Cummon, pick up the pace a bit," her watchman sighed, easing her forward with the tip of his wagon. Mandara bit back harsh words she would rather mutter. She didn't need her temper to get her in more trouble. Only a few days into her early rising shifts, and she already regretted becoming a 'task-worker'. The sulfurous smell of the mines still clung around her, reminding her of that other option. "We still need to clean the plaques on the top level, so don't take too long to finish up, goro."

The head of the next torch stood above her own head, too high for her to comfortably reach. Even standing on tip-toe, a trickle of black powder strayed from the brazier, staining her sweater's white wool grey. Dust fluttered into her face and eyelashes and clung to the wet crevices of her drying lips. Finally, the whoosh of heat successfully ignited against her hand. Their sparks lashed out hungrily like rattlesnakes, biting at her. Balance failing, she fell backwards, and the bag squashed under her hip in a lumpy mess. The watchman gave up on waiting for her and ambled past with his load.

"Don't just sit there, goro. More torches to light, ya know." Mandara painfully peeled herself from the ground.

"I just need a break. Just a few minutes of rest," she groaned. He didn't look back. In an attempt to give her shoulder a break, she pulled a rag from her pocket to begin polishing the dust from the metal plaques along the walls.

Picking between the thin crevices in the plaque runes finally gave her time to look around. Only one or two Gorons made their way through this part of the city, and there were barely any open doors or passages save for a pair of staircases. Her watchman was nowhere in sight, probably taking his load to a lower area of the city. She was pretty much alone to do her work.

The areas below were full of activity and loud voices. Smatterings of Hylian could be heard among them. It reminded her of the marketplace in Castle Town.

_Her father stood by her side, holding her hand while they weaved through colorful canvas stalls. She could smell horses and bread, and in her pocket she clutched a blue Rupee, waiting to be spent on the perfect treat._

A loud deep voice cut the memory short. At least in that marketplace, she understood what the shopkeepers were yelling. A small pang of homesickness grew in Mandara's chest and she pressed the rag harder into the crevices of the plaque. She hoped she could work away the thoughts.

In this dull stone and metal city, a sparkling trinket caught her eye. It stood out marvelously upon a platform suspended by thick rope. Aside from a brilliant red sheen, she couldn't distinguish what it was. She turned around completely, stood on the very edge and leaned over as far as she dared.

"I couldn't..." she thought aloud, backing away from the edge with clenched teeth. The rope was as wide around as her arm, definitely sturdy enough to hold her, but her head spun at the sheer drop beneath.

The object drew her like a magpie to silver. Tenderly, she inched forward onto the rope support and glanced about. None of the Gorons above or below seemed to pay her any heed. She was just the slave worker, so what she did was not anyone's concern until they needed her. "_Someone had to cross this to put it there. Why can't I?"_ she thought, and with a final deep breath, the Hylian crawled out onto the rope.

The support swayed faintly under the full bearing of her weight, no longer aided by the safety of the wall. Clinging for dear life, she hung below the rope like a sloth. Her stomach felt detached from her ribs, hanging below her like a knotted mental knapsack. Mandara squeezed her eyes closed and felt her way forward in inches, legs and arms wrapped tight around the rope as it calmly rocked her. Dry weave scratched at her hands. "_Darn my curiosity,"_ she cursed, greatly regretting not being able to turn around. She didn't trust her ability to crawl backwards.

Below her, the rumble of voices continued, uninterrupted and unknowing of the girl above them.

Would they even care if she fell?

How far would she fall before she hit the ground?

Would it hurt at all?

She gritted her teeth against those thoughts and imaginary pains. "_Cummon, stop thinking like that! You won't fall!_"

The top of her head cracked painfully. The lip of the stone platform had snuck up on her. For a moment, Mandara hung there limply and let her head swim, eyes opened instinctively with the beginning of a throbbing headache. The cityscape wavered upside down before her.

All her strength was needed to pull herself upright, belly stretched along the top of the rope. Her upper torso was splayed across the smooth rock platform. Another pull forward and her legs were on solid ground, shaking in relief. Mandara looked back, seeing the massive expanse of rope between her and the side. "Wow." She felt impressed that she had managed such a feat.

As she stood up, she glanced over at the domed rock pedestal. A metal plaque inscribed with Goron runes was set into the rock, written around the traditional footprint symbol so often repeated in the city. There seemed to be some older runes in the rock beneath the plaque. Through age and wear, they were barely more than shallow, unintelligible dips.

Above it was the treasure: a medallion of sorts, carved from a slab of ruby bigger than her palm. It was a flawless gem, as clear and pure as stained glass. In the dim torchlight, the innards of the medal glittered and reflected a warm glow onto her hand. However, the simplicity of the carving was underwhelming.

"What sort of thing is this?" She ran a hand over the three pronged symbol and felt fire-like warmth radiate from within.

--

The heartbeat fluttered faintly inside him like a butterfly. It demanded attention with a frightened mousy patter, taking precedence over his mind. It shocked him momentarily from his dreamy trance. But was it just his imagination?

"Darunia? What's the matter?" A small child's voice was strong in the expanse of the realm.

"Nothing... Please, keep playing." The girl nodded and brought the wooden flute back to her lips, starting again from the chorus. The peaceful instrument again filled the world.

The Goron chief tried to return to his peaceful thoughts, letting his eyes become unfocused into the waterfall veils of the Sacred Realm, past the tiny girl clothed in green and white as she sat on an invisible forest stump. One tall boot tucked behind the other. Her pale and delicate face was illuminated by the sacred blue light from the platform they stood on. He tried to let himself be lost again. She was such a beautiful musician...

But the fluttering continued, and his hands tightened on his thighs. His lips stretched taut into a deep scowl of concentration. Too faint, too lightly it beat to be his. One massive hand migrated up to his chest and felt against the smooth metal of his armor.

Saria opened her eyes mid-chorus and stopped again with a loud and adorable sigh. "Darunia. I know something's bothering you." He closed his eyes and leaned back, trying to decipher the feeling inside him.

"There's someone's heartbeat." His deep rough voice was hushed. Saria's ocarina dissipated into a cloud of glowing petals; her will to perform was gone. She leaned into his armored lap, pushing back long embroidered sleeves. He made no motion to remove her, but instead lifted his chin and removed his hand from his broad chest plate. She leaned against the plate armor of his chest and felt cool metal and coarse beard hair against her cheek. To her keen ears, the lumbering of his heart was like a taut Goron drum. But fainter still, between its slow pulses, was the beating of another beside it. Saria pulled away in puzzlement to look into the man's dark eyes.

"My son had said that he would leave the Fire Medallion in the city so that I would know when he returned from Snowpeak," he said louder, feeling more irritated than thoughtful.

"But that can't be him. It can't even be a Goron," Saria piped in, shaking her head.

"I know that, but there isn't supposed to be anyone but Gorons on the mountain."

--

Mandara took up the medallion fully in her hands, eyes widened. _"Did...Did the medallion just talk?" _she thought, turning it over and over again to examine the pronged carving, and now what she saw as the sacred triangles on the other side. But nothing was revealed except the warped reflection of her hands, red within the gem. The heat against her hands was comfortable, not unlike that of a living body, and it pulsed in her grip; she could have sworn it was a living thing if she hadn't known she was holding a chunk of jewelry.

"H-hello?" she said hesitantly, holding her face close to the medallion. It seemed like a stupid thing to speak aloud.

--

Darunia started so suddenly, the Forest Sage was knocked onto her back, winded by contact with his knuckles as they had recoiled up. She caught her breath again and slowly rolled onto her feet, readjusting her hair band with a confused squint of her eyes. The Goron warrior's eyes were unfocused, looking into himself instead of at his surroundings. He hadn't even realized that he had hit her.

"It's a girl," he said at last. "She spoke... just now." Saria held a hand to her lips. Although she had not heard anything herself, she knew the Medallion powers well. Only the Sage would hear whoever held their Medallion.

"Who are you?" the man asked, his voice booming through the silent realm. He did not want to scare the girl, but he couldn't help his irritation. There was an awkward pause.

"_I-I'm... Mandara." _The voice was in his head, strained, but decidedly female.

"Mandara? That sounds like a Hylian name." Saria's eyebrows rose and Darunia's followed suit.

"_Yes, i-it is," _the voice stammered,_ "But who... or what is it that I'm--"_

_--_

"Hey!" The loud angry voice behind her startled the Medallion to the ground. But rather than shattering like the typical artifact, it bounced with a loud ping and rolled towards the edge.

"_Oh crap!_" Mandara dove for the medal, arms outstretched. _"I can't lose this! I'll be a dead man!"_ A massive trunk of a leg stomped down before her. She collided with it, feeling her shoulder bruise, and the warmth of the medallion wedged between the leg and her chest. Hanging over the edge of the platform, she caught at her breath. "_At... At least it's safe,"_ she breathed.

She on the other hand, probably wouldn't be so lucky. The Goron, her supervisor, snatched her up by the scruff of her vest, regarding her like a misbehaving pet. If a Goron could frown any deeper, they would have been Gor Dendai.

"**What** are you doing over here, goro?" he barked. "Put Big Brother's necklace back where you found it, goro!" With shaking hands, Mandara replaced the medal and no sooner had she done that had her supervisor strode fearlessly over the rope support. She hung freely in space, saved only by his stern and angry grip on her shirt.

He had her pinned against the nearest wall by the shoulder next, caught in a horrible pinch of Goron strength. He wasn't trying to be gentle, and she tried to stay calm.

"You should've been lighting torches, goro!"

"I-I finished the torches already."

"No one is allowed to touch Big Brother's necklace 'cept him or the elders, goro. Why were you over there when you didn't have permission, goro? Trying to pilfer from us, goro?" It was difficult to think quickly under his heavy glare. Desperately, she held back tears of fear.

Over his shoulder, the glint of the medallion platform resumed, renewed by the glow of its prize sitting overhead.

"I-I was polishing the plaque, like you said." He squinted thoughtfully at her. "I-I thought you meant all of them, so I went to get that one. A-And the Medallion fell off." Under the pressure, her pinched shoulder and arm tingled unpleasantly.

He searched her incredulously for another moment, and with a sigh of approval, the Goron released her. Mandara crumpled to her knees upon hitting the ground. With her better arm, she massaged her sorest parts.

"Well, know now that it's off limits, goro. If you're ever even near the ropes again, you'll be sent to Brother Dendai, goro." With a final frown, the Goron strode off to his unaccompanied barrow, resuming work as if he had done nothing wrong.

Mandara shuffled until her back was against the wall. Tears snuck out from her and stained her dirty face with streaks of moisture.

--

His chest felt strangely void as the girl's voice and heartbeat disappeared. Crisp Hylian words still hung in his mind, and with his free hand he massaged his temples.

"She got cut off," he groaned. A dull pulse thudded where a sharp pain had pierced the back of his head, along with the high pitched clatter of the Medallion hitting a stone floor. "I think someone made her drop it..."

"Well I hope she's okay," Saria piped up, lowering her tense hand from her mouth to clench upon her chest. Her other hand played with the hem of her white and gold trimmed skirt.

Darunia's eyebrows slumped down his brow, settling into a disappointed expression that he tried to rub away. "...I really had hoped it was Link..." The girl stepped up to clasp both of her hands around the fist that rested in the massive Goron's lap. The metal and leather gauntlet was warm. Her innocence was too much to ignore, and the Fire Sage's lips tugged at a faint smile. "But I'm sure he's managing well on his own, right?" She nodded with her wide, childish smile.

The Goron stepped up to his full height, towering over Saria in a mass of armor and muscle. "Although, Rauru should know of this for our next meeting with the Sage of Time," he noted to Saria.

With the closing of their eyes, the two bodies melted away into light. The two sparks, one red as embers, the other green like ivy, danced around each other into the peaceful darkness of the Chamber.


End file.
